I haven’t been less excited for a new album since Franz Ferdinand’s a couple of years back. Does that say something about the band, or me? No idea, but every time there was a mention of “Angles” on the interwebs, I couldn’t force myself to give a shit. Even the cover art seemed boring.
Never before has a paradox failed to make me go “oooh.” I literally said, “oh, it’s that impossible staircase.” Then yawned.
Is it because Julian Casablancas has the laziest singing style ever? Maybe snoring into the mic for four albums has finally put me to sleep. It seems that a band who according to just about everyone was supposed to “save rock’n'roll” shouldn’t inspire this amount of apathy from its followers. I mean, I’m writing this as a guy who liked all three of their previous offerings. Besides, we should stop kidding ourselves about being able to “save” rock. It already gave birth to Nickelback and Creed. I think that’s the definition of irredeemable.
Maybe we’re witnessing the process of a band becoming irrelevant. Maybe this is the first in a long line of albums that The Strokes record that no one cares about. Sort of how when you talk about the Rolling Stones, most everyone pretends nothing happened after Tattoo You. In twenty years, The strokes will release their tenth album ,and people will go “WOW. The Strokes are still recording? I’m surprised they haven’t given it up yet.”
It’s just not their time anymore. In 2001, they were exciting, mostly because the only popular rock was truly terrible post-grunge like Puddle of Mudd (way to spell your name with two D’s. Retards), or horrifying rap-rock hybrids like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit (our generation’s greatest shame isn’t that we rolled over on some political issue, but that we actually liked listening to that shit in middle school. Ugh). But now you can find kick-ass rock music with a google search, or any kind of music you want, really. So having a group like The Strokes around to prove that all modern music doesn’t suck isn’t necessary anymore. And that’s why they tried to get all cute and diversify their sound on this record, trying very hard to say “Look! We’re still relevant!”
And if you have to convince us that you’re still hip, that’s when you’re not. Sorry, dudes. Dropped from my hard drive like a hot rock. Don’t get too sad. You’ll always have 2001.
Ana
03/21/2011
Harsh. And yet I really, really don’t care about The Strokes, it’s true.
jake the snake
03/27/2011
I cant explain why your not excited about this album(is there any band who’s album you do anticipate?) but I can tell you that as a music fan there are few bands that produce better sounding and more origional music then the strokes. Granted their last two albums have not been on par with their first two but its still better then just about anything else thats come out in the last 5 years. Ive already listened to angles about a hundred times and it keeps getting better with every llisten. If you dont get excited when a band as good as the strokes put out a new album then there is nothing wrong with the strokes there is something wrong with you.
The Duckman
03/27/2011
Best album in the last five years? I can name 100 albums better than Angles.
1. Lisbon
2. Is this happening
3. Teen Dream
4… shit man, even Suburbs was better than this shit they called music
IronyOnRye
03/29/2011
Sorry, brah. Is This It was a good album, but bands have to innovate and change up their sound. You can’t go on making the same album over and over again and rely on the hits to keep people interested. That’s why people hate AC/DC. I mean, The Strokes really did try to diversify their sound on this one, but it sounded awkward and forced.
And yes, I was anticipating (let’s limit this to 2011) Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Toro y Moi, Bibio, and Ringo Deathstarr. They all had good albums, and I was impressed with them all. Bibio might be album of the year. I’m still looking forward to Justice, Digitalism, Boards of Canada and a few others. So it’s not like I’m impossible to please, it’s just that The Strokes put out a bad album.
zoe
07/17/2011
um the strokes are amazing. theyare the best band i have EVER listened to or heard of. julian casablncas has a beautiful mind. and his voice is amazingg! dont hate on the strokes.
zoe
07/17/2011
the strokes are amazing. there music is beautiful and julians voice is beautiful. each song has a incredible meaning in its own way. there new ablum angles. is amazing. i love the strokes. please dont hate on them. they are the best band i have ever heard of or listened to.