REVIEW: The Strokes explore the sound of the ‘80s

The Strokes, a band that has been known for taking a long time between album releases, just came out with their fifth studio album, “Comedown Machine.” This has been the shortest wait for an album since 2011’s “Angles” and you should be excited.

At just under 40 minutes, “Comedown Machine” is filled with new wave sounding synths and an 80s feel. This album pretty much follows the style of The Strokes last album, “Angles,” and singer/songwriter Julian Casablancas’s solo album, “Phrazes for the Young.” Don’t let the 80s vibe fool you — the production on “Comedown Machine” makes it sound very contemporary and is very hip for The Strokes. Although this album doesn’t have any songs that you can really compare to The Strokes’ past ‘classic’ singles, most songs really standout. They’re throwing a lot of new styles and ideas and fortunately they’re sticking.

“Comedown Machine” is full of excellent choruses that are very memorable. They’re the ones that get stuck in your head during class and never want to shut up, and for me, that’s a good thing.

A new element that Casablancas worked into the songs is his use of falsetto. His voice may take some time to get used to, but no one can deny the fact that the melodies he creates are very pretty. The partnership between guitarists Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi is precise as usual and blends perfectly. The Strokes do sound like they are enjoying themselves more so than on “Angles” where recording was done individually and compiled at the end.
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Parts in “Comedown Machine” do resemble past work. “50/50” has a fuzziness that hasn’t been heard from The Strokes since 2001. And “80’s Comedown Machine” sounds similar to the dreamy “Ask Me Anything” from 2006s “First Impressions of Earth.” Lyrically, this album has a theme of accepting reality and trying to move on. “Comedown Machine” rivals past work such as “Chances” crooning “I waited on you, but now I don’t,” and  “Vision of Division” off of “First Impressions…” yelling  “How long must I wait?”  They now have a more relaxed side to them compared to past lyrics.

When listening to “Comedown Machine” I find it hard to skip over any of the songs. “Welcome to Japan” has an unbelievable amount of swagger and is definitely a toe tapper. One mistake off of “Comedown Machine” was the decision to put “Fast Animals” as a B-side. Identical to “Slow Animals” which made the cut, “Fast Animals” has more emotion, is up-beat, and is a lot clearer.  It is definitely one of my favorite Strokes songs at the moment.

Although The Strokes may never release a traditional sounding album again, “Comedown Machine” proves that The Strokes still have some creativity left in them and deserve to be heard. All personal obsessions aside, it is one of the best alternative releases this year.