The Strokes - The New Abnormal

Having not released any new music together for seven years The Strokes released their sixth studio album on April 10th bang in the middle this UK lockdown.

Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond Jr, Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti (what a name) have finally got together and put pen to paper on what hopefully is going to be better then their last few offerings. Lets face it The Strokes haven't had a decent album since 2001s Is This It. That's nineteen years ago! Feel old? That album which sold around 1.5m copies (and in those days you actually had to go in a store and buy a cd) earned them rave reviews and put them on the map and rightly so. Hits like Last Night, Hard to Explain, Someday and New York City Cops are still as popular as ever on the indie scene and you'd have to have balls of steel to skip one of those during the pre-drinks sesh with your mates.
The question is did The Strokes shoot their load too early with their masterpeice? Follow up album Room on Fire (2003) doesn't really offer us anything exciting. Melody rich 12:51 is the pick of the bunch where third release First Impressions of Earth (2005) really is a miss more then a hit. After a six year hiatus Angles (2011) was released followed quickly buy the extremely dreary Comedown Machine (2013).
Record sales have declined and roumers of in band arguments have surfaced. All bands memebers have embarked on other projets. Casablancas released a solo record in 2009, followed by two albums with his band The Voids. Hammond Jr has released four solo albums the latest Francis Trouble (2018) I highly recomend.  Valensi formed band CRX who have released two albums, the first, New Skin (2016) is worth a listen and was produced by Josh Homme of Queens of the Stoneage.

The New Abnormal has been released through Casablancas's own label Cult after their record deal expired and has been produced by Rick Ruben (Red Hot Chili Peppers go to guy). We kick off with The Adults Are Talking. This riff grabs my attention straight away. It has a zest to it that i haven't heard in their other albums over the last week or so of re-listening to them. There seems to be a energy to it which is a great way to start an album right? The lyrics on the other hand seem almost angry. "They will blame us, crucify and shame us. We can't help it if we are the problem. We are trying hard to get your attention" Who is JC talking about here? Maybe it's a dig at the man, society in itself or the powers at be?
Selfless is a good old fashioned love song, with enough guitars and drums in their to satisfy our needs but is a really pleasent listen.
Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus again starts with a really catchy intro and has a kind of synthy feel to it. The thing that strikes me most about the early tracks of this record is that every song seems to have it's own lease of life. They're all very different and maybe that's a nod to Rick Ruben (producer) who tends to put his own stamp on the music he is involved with. Just look at his work with The Chili Peppers.
Bad Decisions is for me the stand out track of this record and my thoughts are justified by the bands decision to release this as appetizer prior to album release. With a emphatically catchy but ever so simple chours of just a few words Bad Decisions will have you foot tapping, and singing eyes shut kareoke style after one listen. Refreshingly JC's vocals are clear and distinctive, which can't always be said and the thumping drums and indie rock guitars give a real impression that the guys are enjoying themselves. The bad decision seems to be a girl (who knew) that he can't seem to part company with but doesn't really want to "oh, i'm making bad decisions with you..."
The album rolls into Eternal Summer, which at 6:15 is the longest song on the album but is easily one of the most forgettable.
At The Door is perhaps for me one of the most lyrically deep tracks on this record. It's acompanied by a almost heavily synced organ musical arrangment which at first i found odd for the type of song this was trying to be but hey, this is a Strokes record.
The song seems to be highlighting vulnerability in life and the constant everyday battle to impress or be seen. Short snippet lyrics "like a little boy" "have i lost it all?"  "I'm a ugly little boy"  "lonley after light" all symbolise thoughts that one might have in times of lonliness or anxiety.
With three songs remaining this is where the album kinda loses it's way for me and the songs become unremarkable. Why Are Sundays So Depressing is exactly what it says on the tin. A meh, kinda tune with not really much going for it apart from some experimental guitars in the melody.  Not The Same Anymore seems to drag on with it's running time of 5:37 and i found myself waiting for the song to take off but the energy isn't there. Ode To The Mets is the finale of the record. A quick google and The Mets are a Major League Baseball team (not my forte) based in New York, which is of course where The Strokes originate from. Although there's no mention of baseball within the song it's believed the lyrics are metophorical for the goods times, hence Ode To The Mets where they presumably spent many a good time.

So is The New Abnoramal a return to form for the band after their seven year hiatus? In simple terms very much yes. The record has more then enough decent tracks on it to be memorable for a period of time and as always with The Strokes the heavy guitar riffs and rythmic drums make up for any mumbling, obscure lyrics Casablancas serves up. JC actually has some of his best vocal performances for a while on this record and lyrically he aces numerous songs. The problem with The Strokes is their debut album Is This It? is their masterpeice and fans expecting another one of these may be dissapointed but don't be. The New Abnormal will be one of the top records of 2020, maybe not with sales figures but this is a solid album for a band that most people thought had wondered into the wilderness.

The New Abnormal:
The Adults Are Talking
Selfless
Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus
Bad Decisions
Eternal Summer
At The Door
Why Are Sundays So Depressing
Not The Same Anymore
Ode To The Mets

AB