This review was originally published for Nouse (10/04/2020) and has been republished for portfolio purposes.
No one has changed the contemporary indie landscape quite as much as The Strokes. With their electrifying 2001 debut Is This It and decent follow up Room On Fire, they sparked a revival of post-punk, garage rock and indie that would overturn the dominant grunge and alternative rock movements of the 1990s. Even Alex Turner wanted to be one of them.
These first two projects were followed up by several more albums and EPs across the following decade, each one managing to capture less and less of that magic that made the first two so game changing. Then nothing. A seven year hiatus saw band members pursue solo projects which saw varying degrees of success, from Casablancas' experimental and synth-heavy and moody electro-pop group the Voidz to Albert Hammond Jr’s slightly ropey guitar pop albums. Then in 2017, we first heard rumblings of a new album.
Under the guidance of Def Jam founder and super-producer Rick Rubin, The New Abnormal had a tough job even before it went into production. How do you follow a back catalogue as ground-breaking and influential as The Strokes whilst progressing the sound and style in a way that shows evolution and not diminishing returns?
The band’s solution - dig into the past.
The New Abnormal leans heavily on its 1980s New York influences, from Blondie, the Talking Head and Television to Billy Idol. From the cover art alone (Jean-Michel Basquiat’s ‘Bird On Money’), you get the distinct sense of a drity, gritty 80s New York which is only reinforced through the various motifs and references that pepper the track list. The stabbing, analogue synths that open the bona-fide banger ‘Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus’ and woozy, atmospheric keys that underpin ‘At The Door’ both have that distinct New Wave lilt that evoke a heady nostalgia. Hammond Jr and Valensi’s duelling guitar melodies on ‘Why Are Sundays So Depressing?’ and ‘Bad Decisions’ conjure images of post-punk bands like New Order and Casablancas’ slightly rough and fuzzy vocals sound instantly classic. Tracks like ‘Selfless’ even sound eerily similar to Casablancas' side project The Voidz with its de-tuned guitar passages and woozy vocals.
The album feels like it's in a constant process of crate-digging, as it gleefully pulls out references to the 1980s and slaps them across the album, almost sampling their musical intertextuality. They want you to know exactly what they’re doing (Billy Idol even gets a writing credit for an idea they use on ‘Bad Decisions’) and revel in incorporating a past New York, referencing their idols and inspirations.
Be under no illusions though, this is very definitely a Strokes record through and through. From the bounce and punch of Hammond Jr’s first riff on ‘The Adults Are Talking’ to Casablanca’s trademark falsetto howls on ‘Bad Decisions’, this record carries the DNA of those first few Strokes records. It oozes that same effortless cool, the riffs still have that bite and grit and the choruses have that same sing-along appeal, written for a festival stage.
Production is crisp and sharp, bringing a polish and gloss that gives it just enough of the 1980s sheen to inkeep with the aesthetics of the album without losing that rougher, loose feel that made Is This It such an incredible indie album. Rick Rubin has done a stellar job on the production here although you wouldn’t know it - he’s not left any fingerprints. If the production credits didn’t list him then I wouldn’t have realised he was even on it.
What makes The New Abnormal such a unique album is its refreshing take on indie and post-punk, with playful incorporation of 80s influences and aesthetics. What lets it down is the slightly slow and sluggish pacing of the album. It’s only 9 tracks but almost 40 minutes long and as a result some of the tracks begin to limp and flag in their final leg, as both the band and listener seem to lose interest. It feels like a more disciplined edit of the tracks could have helped but unfortunately the occasional self-indulgence of the songwriting results in an album that feels a little bloated.
There is a lot to love about this album. Most notably, how those traditional Strokes elements are blended and combined with a whole host of new influences and ideas to create something truly special. The airy vocals of Casablancas, tight guitar work of Valensi and Hammond Jr as well as the driving rhythm section of Moretti and Fraiture are perfectly suited to the 80s style they try and ape across many of the tracks. The synths, pulsing drum machines and keys on tracks like ‘Ode To Mets’ all work perfectly alongside your typical Strokes grooves and give them a transcendent, nostalgic quality. Even songs that throw the Strokes rulebook out the window, like the moody and drumless ‘At The Door’, shine as Casablancas has more headroom to play with, his vocals given more room to breathe.
This album also has what I will now call “The Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino Effect’. In short, it shows a band who used to make blistering indie bangers mature and celebrate their maturity on their 6th album - there’s still the heart and passion of those first few projects but with more restraint and class. They are both albums that feel grown up, like musicians making music appropriate to their age rather than trying to relive their glory years.
They are in their 40s after all.
But, just like on the recent Arctic Monkeys record, this does not mean any of the songwriting has suffered as a result of age - in fact it seems more mature than before. It’s not as keen as those early albums, or trying to relive the glory days like some of the band’s later albums. It’s quite happy existing in a little nostalgic bubble, nodding to the past but doing something new and different. And that’s why I love this album, because it feels like a Strokes record that has matured, that embraces its age and, as a result, sounds both incredibly nostalgic and incredibly current.
8.5/10
Alex Thompson
Comentarios