When you take a five year break between records, you should know the expectations are going to be high. I’m sure the Strokes had a pretty good idea what was waiting for them when they finally released Angles.
Stylistically this record seems to fit somewhere in between Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth. It’s because they didn’t quite get back to their original, stripped-down sound that I think a lot of reviewers wrote off this album. NME actually called it one of the biggest let-downs of the year. I wonder if they actually listened to it more than once.
Angles has everything any other Strokes record has; rhythmic guitars, catchy lyrics, and a strangely familiar feel. Plus it has that ability to grow on you with every listen. But like the others, it also has a different attitude that sets it apart from the rest.
I’ll admit that I may have been a little too eager to listen to this album. A co-worker and I actually watched a clock countdown the hours (and then minutes) before we could listen to Under Cover of Darkness this spring. Does that make me a little biased? Maybe. Even a little deranged? Perhaps. One thing’s for sure, had I not been working at a rock station – I would've been fired.
I just hope that this isn't the last record from the Strokes. And if it isn't, that we don't have to wait another five years for the next one.
Favourite Tracks: Machu Picchu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i8xhDleJ14 , Under Cover of Darkness, Taken for a Fool, Gratisfaction, Games, Life is Simple in the Moonlight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-m8I6di6R8&feature=related
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