The Strokes: Room on Fire
Stephen Mooallem
“I want to be forgotten/And I don’t want to be reminded” warbles singer Julian Casablancas in the opening seconds of this follow-up to his band’s 2001 debut, Is This It?. Scuttling would-be critics at the outset, the Strokes appropriate failure as their game, an aesthetic that they manipulate here with the dexterity of origamists. Casablancas is a dirty Sinatra, constantly–and purposefully–struggling to stay in key, keep up with the beat, and hit all the notes through a widened musical palette that includes hints of Tom Petty, Bob Marley, and the Cars, as well as intricate melodies that shine through the shambolica.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
