It seems like just last week we were talking about "Under Cover of Darkness," the first single off The Strokes' new album, Angles (oh wait, it was last week). Now, a week before the album's official release -- if that means anything these days -- the full album has been unleashed online ... by The Strokes themselves. And we couldn't wait to get our greedy little ears all over it.
We streamed, we listened, we nodded along. And dare we admit, we may have wiped away a tear of joy. Thank you Julian, Nikolai, Albert, Fabrizio and Nick. Just ... thank you. Because what we have here is New York's quintessential post-millennial garage band returning to the scuzz-rock of their epochal 2001 debut album Is This It? with a few futuristic-sounding bells and whistles (no, seriously) thrown in to bring everything up to date.
Angeles is The Strokes' first album since 2006's First Impressions of Earth, and comes on the heels of a few sonic detours, including four solo albums. This time around, lead singer Julian Casablancas e-mailed his vocal tracks to the remaining four members rather than recording with the band. While some members of the group have been less than happy about this approach, we mostly care about the result: a taut 30-minute New Wave-meets-rock album that simultaneously expands the band's sound while retaining all the things we loved about 'em in the first place. And never wears out its welcome.
+ Listen to The Strokes' new album Angles.
+ Watch The Strokes' "Under Cover of Darkness" video.