Band: The Strokes
Label: RCA

1. “Is This It?” A+
2. “The Modern Age” – A+
3. “Soma” – A
4. “Barely Legal” – A+
5. “Someday” – A+
6. “Alone, Together” – A+
7. “Last Nite” – A+
8. “Hard to Explain” – A++
9. “When It Started” – A+ / “New York City Cops” – A+
10. “Trying To Your Luck” – A+
11. “Take It Or Leave It” – A+

Comments: The best of the bunch of so-called revivalists that spawned in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, The Strokes weren’t really revivalists at all. What were they reviving? These guys weren’t punks, either. This album is vintage pop-rock gold. Pop-rock gold that completely triumphs the dumb, uninspiring, and utterly boring, pop-rock of bands of today like…The Script. Despite widespread media coverage of this record and The Strokes legacy in general, it’s a shame they’ve never really crossed over into mainstream pop radio’s heart. Just a few years ago I was informed of this band, so I’m not going to try to pretend these guys were a favorite when I was eleven. I’d heard odds and ends off this album…most amazing to me, initially, were “Someday” and “The Modern Age”…but this was my first time listening to in its entirety. There’s hardly any bands that have produced a better start-to-finish(er). The little bursts of distortion and Casablancas’ distinctive voice are awesome moments on so many of these tunes. Even the songs that I’ve heard only a few times vs. hundreds of times for the others are immediately likable.

Grade: A+ (97)