It has been two years since The Strokes’ first release, Is This It, made its gradual climb onto radio stations and CD players everywhere. While the band has spent most of its time since the release touring countries across the globe, the five members found enough time to piece together their second studio album, Room on Fire.
Though the album carries a familiar sound and style, it deviates from their previous effort through continued musical experimentation — the same experimentation that caught so many off guard on the first release. The Strokes have returned, and returned gracefully to the mainstream rock scene.
The Strokes like to keep things simple, and the songs on Room on Fire are written about only one thing — their relationships. The music backing up the lyrics consists of the same simple, raw drumming and high-pitched guitar chords the first album had. No one expects their guitar players to hammer out a Hendrix-esque guitar solo or their lead singer to scream like Robert Plant — no one really wants them to.
That is the beauty of The Strokes’ music: They could be more complex, but they choose not to be. Songs like “What Ever Happened” and “Automatic Stop” center around three chords, but these three chords are tied together in such a way that listeners are drawn in and hooked by the song immediately.
Most of the tracks on the record revolve around the raw and heavy drumming of Fabrizio Moretti. The song “Reptilia” carries a loud, one-dimensional beat the entire way through. This loud beat, combined with the full and often-scratchy voice of Julian Casablancas, provides the base for most of the songs. Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. string together a dual guitar sound with constantly changing tone that ties in the melody. Often undetectable on the album is Nikolai Fraiture on bass.
Though it is a very complete album and can be played in its entirety with small change in quality, there are four tracks that seem to be above the rest. “What Ever Happened” is a fast-paced song with a shouting Casablancas and a basic-yet-catchy guitar solo.
“12:51,” the first single off the album, is based around a high-toned guitar riff and has Casablancas’ voice mirroring the guitar melody the entire way through. “You Talk Way Too Much” has a stripped-down guitar riff, accompanied by the heavy drumming of Moretti and a sometimes mellow, sometimes angry Casablancas.
However, the song that stands out the most on the album is “Under Control.” It has a brief drum intro reminiscent of the intro on U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” then immediately kicks into a guitar riff that sounds like something out of a Motown rhythm and blues record. It is also on this track that Casablancas showcases his greatest vocal range, in an extremely smooth manner.
Simply put, Room on Fire is The Strokes’ second album, and it is their second great album. People who loved their first record will love this one as well. Those who hated their first record will most likely feel the same about this one, though “Under Control” may persuade them to listen a little further.
As for the people with middle-of-the-road opinions of the band, the album is definitely worth checking out. The resemblance to the first record is strong, but the experimentation with different sounds is evident and makes for an original album. Though the record is only 11 tracks and 31 minutes in length, the quality is enough to satisfy any Strokes’ fan until their next release.
Grade: A