The Strokes - Is This It (10/10)

Is This It (2001)
[U.S. Edition]
The Strokes

Floating on raging seas of hype, in 2001, The Strokes' debut was one of most anticipated albums of the decade. In time, Is This It would earn recognition as a landmark album of the early '00s and a stand-out of the garage rock revival period. Alongside acts such as The White Stripes, The Hives, and The Vines, The Strokes were a back-to-basics band from New York City that sought to recapture the minimalist rhythms of bands like The Velvet Underground. However, the minute Is This It gets going, there's nothing vintage about it. Its irresistible hooks and slick guitar licks are distinctly modern; it's their sensibility that's classic.

The band is tightly knit, flawlessly ticking away in time like a metronome. Fabrizio Moretti's work on the drums is quick and tight with not a beat out of place. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the album is the bright guitar-work shared by lead guitarist Nick Valensi and rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. Twanging chords rapidly fall into place to give the songs forward momentum, but when the intensity builds, wonderfully enthusiastic solos of guitar legend spring out from the steady march of instruments for a brief moment before returning to the line of duty. All of this would seem overwhelmingly rigid if it weren't for the crooning of singer Julian Casablancas, who approaches the mic intimately and emotionally in every song.

There's a certain joyous urgency to the album as well, especially in tracks like "Barely Legal," where Casablancas writhes in his own confusion about where his life is going and his desire to remain young and restless even though his off-and-on girlfriend won't have it. "I just want to misbehave, I just want to be your slave/ You ain't ever had nothing I wanted/ But I want it all I just can't figure out...nothing." Casablancas' sleepy and in some ways seductive tone of singing is pure rock n' roll, and what really helps to establish the band's character.

All in all, Is This It is an exciting modern masterpiece that effortlessly pulls the listener to the very end with classic song after classic song. As I'm sure everyone knows by now, The Strokes have crafted something truly one-of-a-kind, despite even its most obvious influences. If this hasn't already found its way into your library, then you've been missing out for some time.

10/10

Stand-out Tracks:
"Soma"
"Barely Legal"
"Someday"
"Last Nite"
"Hard to Explain"
"Take It or Leave It"