Is This It

by

The Strokes

Edit

I admit that I jumped on the Stroke-wagon a little late but I'm glad I climbed aboard. I really appreciate albums without filler. "Is This It" is just that, strong all that way through. The walking basslines of the title track mesh perfectly with Julian's vocals. The beginning of "Last Night" will remind you immediatley of "American Girl" by Tom Petty but comes into it's own after the first few bars. Throwing down a few more ducats gets you the original album artwork which was banned in the US (the whole situation is very reminiscent of Spinal Tap's "Smell the Glove", STRANGE), and the song "NYC Cops", which was left off the US release after the WTC 9/11. This song is the most "punk" on the CD. Aside from the multitude of 70s band comparisons (Television), if you like good, bar band rock this IS it.

Curious case, the Strokes. The British music press have fallen all over themselves in heaping praise upon them. Their Stateside counterparts are catching on as even Newsweek has heralded the release of their debut LP. As Spin recently poignantly and correctly asserted, more people have heard of the Strokes than have actually heard them.

Until now, perhaps. After a bit of a delay in retooling the album in the wake of the events of September 11, Is This It has been released, allowing the public a full-fledged opportunity to check out the band on record beyond an EP and a single, both released earlier this year in limited circulation. The album crashed in the charts at a glorious #74 position. I'm guessing the CBGB scenesters propelled it to such heights.

So what does Is This It reveal about the group for those of us who dwell far beyond the Lower East Side? Well, the band wears its myriad influences on their collective sleeve. And the rest of their shirt, pants, shoes and whatever other piece of clothing adorns them. Let's see, there's a healthy dose of the Velvets, Television, Blondie, Iggy (hey, a non-NYC touchstone!), as well as just about every pre-punk, proto-punk and new wave band that has festered in NYC. Let's just say this is the sound of a band who could've been holding court at CBGB any time between '77 and '81.

As far as whether or not the Strokes deliver the goods, I think it depends on one's take on the band's homage to and pastiche of the aforementioned influences. I think they do a credible job of conjuring the spirit of Lower East past. Barely Legal, Someday and Last Nite (currently in slow rotation on MTV) are fairly ace tunes, with Someday being the cream of the crop. The thing with me, though, is why settle for this facsimile when you can go back to the sources? Marquee Moon, Loaded and even Parallel Lines are far better records with far superior tunes.

And therein lies the biggest snag with the Strokes. Their material doesn't quite match their mettle. While they have effectively copped the feel, fashion and spirit of the CBGB heyday, Is This It finds the band failing to match the quality of the work of that era's premier groups. I'm not sure if it's a case of the weight of their influences being too heavy to bare or if frontman and sole songwriter Julian Casablancas just hasn't developed the talent to whip up strong enough material, but this album doesn't live up to the proverbial hype.

Maybe it's just that this Southern redneck just doesn't get it. Maybe the British press are bang on with their glowing appraisals. I mean, it's not like they are given to hyperbole every once in a while, are they?