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The Strokes
Room on Fire
(RCA)
T.J. Simon's #8 album for 2003
First Appeared at The Music Box, January 2004, Volume 11, #1
Written by T.J. Simon
Few bands touring and recording today exemplify the rock ’n‘ roll attitude
and swagger as completely as The Strokes. The NYC band’s second release Room
on Fire doesn’t alter the formula one iota from its 2001 debut Is This It
— which is pretty good news for fans.
Weighing in at a nimble 33 minutes, Room on Fire is a barrage of
straight-up blazing rock reminiscent of a polished version of The Clash or The
Ramones. Guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr. produce a cacophony of
sound from their axes while using a variety of effects to simulate keyboards and
other unutilized instruments. The radio single 12:51 is characteristic of
The Strokes’ drive and ferocity, and once again, singer Julian Casablancas
intones as if he had shoved the microphone down his throat. While the
megaphone-like outcome adds to the glorious din, it also garbles the lyrics —
not that there is much to miss in this regard. The music is the message, and the
group is more about the totality of its sound than its lyrics.
Room on Fire is a stylistically uniform album. A hint of reggae creeps
into tracks like Automatic Strap and Between Love and Hate, and on
Meet Me in the Bathroom, the vocals and instruments show a bit too much
reserve where more oomph should have been employed. Still, the band more than
makes up for this moment of timidity on the stellar Under Control and
The End Has No End. Most importantly, The Strokes utterly avoided the
sophomore slump while honing in upon a winning formula to produce another
masterful album.  ½
Room on Fire is available
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2003
The Music Box
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