Almost 10 years on from its release, Is This It still manages to haunt every new release by The Strokes. The critical acclaim that greeted The Strokes’ debut album has followed them ever since, and the subsequent weight of expectation that met both Room On Fire and First Impressions Of Earth, led to both albums receiving fairly mixed reviews, despite being good albums. However, four years on from First Impressions, can The Strokes cast away the lingering shadow of Is This It with their fourth album Angles?
The album opener, ‘Machu Picchu’, emphatically dispels any doubts about the five-piece being submerged under the expectation after such a long lay-off, with its surprising reggae hooks. The lead single from Angles, ‘Undercover Of Darkness’, continues to get better with every listen. Its light-hearted, jangly guitars, Albert Hammond Jr. staple guitar solo and irresistibly catchy double chorus, make it an instant Strokes classic.
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