"Up on a hill, here's where we begin/ This little story, a long time ago," Julian Casablancas sings on The Modern Age, one of the three tracks on The Strokes' 2001 eponymous debut EP, a precursor to the group's seminal full-length, Is This It.
"This little story," as it turned out, grew into something close to a saga as Casablancas and his bandmates Nick Valensi, Fabrizio Moretti, Albert Hammond Jr and Nikolai Fraiture casually shot to fame during the noughties indie boom, and even managed to secure the status of "saviours of guitar rock" long after the hype has ended.
Now, after each member's solo project(s) and almost seven years since their last LP, 2013's Comedown Machine, the 70s New York revivalists are back at it with their long-awaited sixth studio album, The New Abnormal.
Lead single At The Door is a surging breakup ballad that gently introduces fans to the band's new chapter and a shift towards the more expansive sound (albeit with all the riffs intact). Clocking in at five minutes and 10 seconds, it's one of the longer offerings we've heard from the quintet.
Besides the increase in their runtime, the songs share recurring themes of sour romance whether with a significant other (Why Are Sundays So Depressing?) or family members. The latter takes the form of Bad Decisions, which interpolates Billy Idol's classic Dancing With Myself and features some of the instantly recognisable Strokes guitar riffs. This, along with the disco-inspired Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus, give the album a moment of blistering self-awareness.
Other cuts worth mentioning include the gorgeous Selfless and Not The Same Anymore, which captures the same weariness of getting older and not being as "with it" as The Voidz' recent single Did My Best. The album finishes off with the organ-laden Ode To The Mets, a soaring ballad previously debuted at their New Year's Eve gig last year.
The verdict: The fact that The Strokes are still operating is a wonder in itself, but to think that they still have it in them to re-emerge with a deeply relevant record is a true triumph.
Quotable lyrics: "I want new friends, but they don't want me/ They're making plans while I watch TV/ Thought it was you, but maybe it's me/ I want new friends, but they don't want me" (Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus).
Listen to this: At The Door, Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus, Not The Same Anymore.
THE PLAYLIST
Kelly Lee Owens / Melt!
Barring infectious diseases, climate crisis is most likely next in line to wreak havoc on humanity. Touching on this harsh reality is Welsh producer and vocalist Kelly Lee Owens and her latest output, Melt!. The track, taken from her forthcoming second album Inner Song, sees Owens revisiting her love (and knack) for sampling organic sounds and interweaving them within the context of her electronic production. On Melt!, the operative samples are culled from the sounds of ice-skating and glaciers melting. Delivered with stern techno urgency, the message here is clear: The ice caps are melting! Perhaps we, as a species whose survival hinges on the well-being of this very planet, should do something?!
The Killers / Caution
As The Killers' frontman and key songwriter, Brandon Flowers has always enjoyed telling the stories of other people's lives rather than his own. On the band's new single Caution, we're being introduced to "the featherweight queen" with "Hollywood eyes". Nevertheless, through this character, we also get a glimpse of Flowers' own life story -- of the time when he decided to leave his Las Vegas hometown to pursue indie-rock stardom. "If I don't get out, out of this town/ I just might be the one who finally burns it down," he cautions on the synth-driven track, which heralds the imminent arrival of Imploding The Mirage, their first full-length since 2017's Wonderful Wonderful.
Yaeji / Waking Up Down
On Waking Up Down, up-and-coming Korean-American house producer Yaeji celebrates small victories in life over pastel synths and skittering drum machines. "I got waking up down/ I got cooking down/ I got making a list and checking down," she sings with the casual unbothered-ness of your local millennial, mindlessly crossing out to-do items and high-fiving herself in the process. If this sounds a little too self-congratulatory, Yaeji also shows a slice of empathy and flirtiness in the later verse: "I got listening down/ I got you and me and we're also down."
Melanie C / Who I Am
Following the high-profile reunion and a subsequent tour with her fellow Spice Girls last year, Melanie C steps up the game with Who I Am, her first new single since her collaboration with LGBTQ collective Sink The Pink. Co-written by longtime collaborator Richard Stannard, the song rides on similar beats as those on Kelly Clarkson's What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger and shares with it the same self-empowerment message drawn from a personal struggle. "I was lost in the ruins of who I thought I should be/ I forgot I was human, I must set my body free," she muses in the first verse before coming to terms with who she truly is. "I'm comfortable with what's inside … But the real me is mine/ That's who I am."
Gene Kasidit / Wish You Were Here
Gene Kasidit reminisces about his past love on Wish You Were Here, the latest cut to be added in his arsenal of sleek electropop inspired by 80s house and retro-pop melodies. "I just want to know how you've been/ Don't know how long it's been," he sets up the tone during the first half. Then, after a relatively tame intro, the track ramps up into an exuberant disco number. "You were the sunshine when my heart got cold/ You were the song that consoled me when I was in pain," he intones, revelling in the emotional catharsis of it all.
