User:Live Forever/Reviews

Name: First Impressions of Earth.

Artist: The Strokes.

Rating:

Type: Indie rock.

Year: 2006.

Songs: You Only Live Once, Juicebox, Heart in a Cage, Razorblade, On the Other Side, Vision of Division, Ask Me Anything, Electricityscape, Killing Lies, Fear of Sleep, 15 Minutes, Ize of the World, Evening Sun, Red Light

Review: First Impressions are disappointing

Four months ago when the Strokes first single in two years, "Juicebox", leaked onto the internet, excitement quickly gave way to confusion and heated speculation about what it meant for the future of the band's music. What was anticipated to be the return of a widely-adored band, turned out instead to be an ugly sonic collage of mismatched alternative-rock segments, sounding desperate to go in five directions at once yet ultimately getting absolutely nowhere instead. It wasn't just that "Juicebox" was a lousy song; it was also the fact that, for a lead single, it was terribly underwhelming. Unfortunately, it turns out the song was a good indicator of things to come.

"Help me, I'm just not quite myself" lead singer Julian Casablancas wails on the uncharacteristically heavy "Heart in a Cage". That much is painfully obvious. Though there is nothing wrong with an indie rock band having boundaries to their sound, someone clearly forgot to inform the Strokes. Amidst Casablancas' aimless shouts of equally senseless lyrics, drums become frantic and guitar parts come and go faster than you can ask yourself "Is This It?" In an embarrassingly misguided attempt to diversify their sound, the band has lost exactly the perceived cool and effortlessness that made them so appealing in the first place.

Save for charming closer "Red Light", the album's second half is a rather forgettable succession of would be B-sides that suggest the band is perfectly content with wallowing in mediocrity. Occasionally, on songs such as "15 Minutes" and "Ize Of The World", the band seems to have a good idea in their hands but, in an excessive attempt to differentiate from their usual formula, simply fails to execute it. The excessive length doesn't help things either - "First Impressions" is some 15 minutes longer than any of the bands previous releases and features five songs that surpass the four minute mark (something they've never done before).

The disappointment is all the more bitter considering the album's several stand-out tracks. "You Only Live Once" is a tantalizing burst of energy and arguably the band's best ever album opener, while the cohesive "Electricityscape" quickly attains a flow and momentum that it carries throughout. Even "Razor Blade", despite blatantly ripping off Barry Manilow's "Mandy", would have fit in nicely in the first half of "Room on Fire", the band's underrated sophomore effort. But therein lies the problem. Although by no means good, First Impressions is not an absolutely terrible album: Its merely a terrible disappointment.