ALBUM REVIEW
THE STROKES – ROOM ON FIRE
[RCA]


The Strokes sophomore effort begins, “I want to be forgotten, and I don’t want to be reminded�. Both pleas will likely remain unrequited despite their new album, Room On Fire.

It’s a good record, but there isn’t much new to say about the much hyped quartet from New York. The follow-up to 2001’s classic Is This It?, they could’ve called it, Well, Is “This� It Then?. Perhaps if things had worked out with producer Nigel Godrich [Radiohead, Travis, Beck] we could’ve heard something new from The Strokes, but not this time. The only new area tackled here, sonically or lyrically, is the subtle reference on 'Automatic Stop' to homosexuality a-la Morrissey- “So many fish there in the sea/She wanted him, he wanted me�.

A flicker of consciousness in Room On Fire, comes as 'The End Has No End' gets vaguely political, “It’s not the secret of the government that’s keeping you dumb/Oh, it’s the other way around�. The rest of the album reflects the first single, '12:51', and its world of drinking and partying and come-and-go lovers.

3/5

I very much disliked this album on my first spin. However, after giving it a few more listens, it really grew on me. Yes, the Strokes haven't really grown since the amazing debut, but the sound is still great. It's like listening to The Cars and Television mixed together. 12:51 could have been writen by Ric Ocasek.

I found the album was really fun to listen to..like blasting it in the car was some of my favourite memories with friends. Althought a lot of the songs sounded similar to one another; I still say it was a good album.

4/5

i bought this cd cos i had the debut album and quite liked it. when i listened through it once, i didn't listen to it 1 month later. i thought it was utter shite. but it really grows on you this album. i would give it 3.5/5