Strokes First Impressions Of Earth CD

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
The Strokes: Nikolai Fraiture (bass instrument); Fabrizio Moretti, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond, Jr., Julian Casablancas.
Personnel: Julian Casablancas (vocals); Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond, Jr. (guitar); Fabrizio Moretti (drums).
Audio Mixers: John O'Mahoney; Andy Wallace.
Recording information: Allaire Studios, Shokan, NY; Red Carpet Studios.
Photographer: Dan Winters.
Arranger: The Strokes.
With 2006's FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF EARTH, the Strokes have not only crafted an album that cracks the 36-minute mark, they've also opted for a bolder sound, courtesy of veteran producer David Kahne. While these changes don't mean a drastically different direction for the New York City-based rock band, they do indicate that frontman Julian Casablancas and the boys are in a more adventurous mode.
EARTH's initial single, the driving, hard-edged "Juicebox," features Casablancas giving a raspy vocal performance that sounds more impassioned than anything on the group's previous outings, while "On the Other Side" is an almost breezy tune that has the singer recalling the plaintive delivery of Bono. Throughout the record, drummer Fab Moretti and bassist Nikolai Fraiture anchor the proceedings with unflappable rhythmic precision, allowing guitarists Albert Hammond, Jr., and Nick Valensi the freedom to lay down alternately searing and chiming six-string lines that add palpable verve to these 14 tunes. A band that has seen both over-the-top hype and its inevitable backlash, the Strokes seem eager to venture forward on FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF EARTH, an album that should not only quiet accusations of sonic sameness but win over new fans.
Why would a comeback from one of the most-talked about rock acts of the 2000s arrive just after the holidays, when the music industry is usually still hibernating (or hung over)? Optimistically, they could be taking advantage of holiday money and gift certificates burning holes in the pockets of their fan base. Less charitably, they may be trying to avoid tougher competition later in the year -- or worse, just trying to bury the album altogether. With the Strokes and First Impressions of Earth, it's difficult to tell exactly what the motivation was, but by releasing it so early in 2006, it ends up not being just one of the year's first albums, but one of its first disappointments as well. To be fair, First Impressions starts out strong. "You Only Live Once" is everything a fan could want from a Strokes song, with a joyful melody, skipping rhythm, and cheerfully snotty lyrics. "Juicebox," meanwhile, moves from a bassline nicked from the "Peter Gunn Theme" to ragged grunge before landing on a soaring, plaintive chorus. Love it or hate it, the song has a boldness and creativity that is in short supply elsewhere on First Impressions of Earth. On the other hand, the similarly experimental "15 Minutes," a shambling mess of a ballad that eventually ignites into a rocker, is so odd that it ends up being more surprising than disappointing. That honor goes to the songs that sound like the band is just tracing over its own work -- and not especially well. Waiting for memorable hooks and lyrics to emerge from "Heart in a Cage," "Electricityscape," and other half-formed songs is a lot more depressing than the occasional failed experiment. Indeed, depression is a big theme on First Impressions of Earth; while jaded and bruised lyrical territory is nothing new for the Strokes, now they sound boring instead of just bored with everything around them. On "Ask Me Anything," an otherwise pretty ballad, Casablancas repeats "I've got nothing to say" so often that the listener has no choice but to believe him. There are a few bright moments: "Ize of the World" and "Razorblade" channel the bite of the band's older work without rehashing it entirely. At just under an hour long, First Impressions of Earth is nearly the lengthSpin (p.88) - "Jules' croon remains one of the most beautiful messes in contemporary music..." -- Grade: B-
Entertainment Weekly (p.75) - "If it feels more like a showcase of new approaches and ideas than of perfectly turned songs, it's still a hot ride." - Grade: B+
Q (p.121) - Ranked #40 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[F]rontman Julian Casablancas still sounded remarkably surly."
Uncut (p.68) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "FIRST IMPRESSIONS...is the sound of a group coming back to earth after a remarkable rocket-ride and knuckling down to their task."
Magnet (p.113) - "The drum-less, string-adorned 'Ask Me Anything' is a beautiful mid-record palate cleanser."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.88) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[Electricityscape] is a dalliance with rock bombast that actually works, its pummelling drums, cyclical guitar strafes and urban melodrama channelling the spirit of Springsteen's 'Born To Run'."