Music Monday: ‘Comedown Machine’ by The Strokes

What comes after a comeback album? A “comedown” album, apparently.

Things have definitely settled down for the New York indie rock band, The Strokes, two years after the release of their preceding album, Angles, which is known amongst their fans to be their comeback album, after an extensive five-year break prior. But one does wonder if this fifth studio album marks the next chapter for the five piece, or it is, ultimately, the last chapter.

Ask any The Strokes fans out there, and they will tell you that Is this It, their debut album back in 2001, is probably it for the band. It is all downhill from there. Not to say that albums succeeding the debut suck, mind you. Despite hitting the right notes when they first burst into the scene in the early Noughties, one thing The Strokes are good at is striking the right chords for a good pop song. This latest album release does not fall short either, with a little bit of room for some experimenting even. That’s what you get when a control freak lead, namely Julian Casablancas, in this case, let loose and allow his other band members to play along in the songwriting process.

In Comedown Machine, The Strokes still hold true to their signature sound in tracks like Tap Out, Welcome to Japan and 50/50. But they also try out more atmospheric resonance in the docile 80s Comedown Machine, Slow Animals and Partners in Crime, where Casablancas has a go with some falsettos, a higher octave where none has ever gone before, and lastly, the pensive closing track Call it Fate Call it Karma, an unusual tune that The Strokes have never done before in their entire career.

For a band that has successfully kicked of the Noughties, (they have been known to have given a new lease of life to rock ‘n’ roll), Comedown Machine is where The Strokes have ended up with. Coincidentally, this album also marks the New Yorkers’ final album release with their music label RCA Records. (Hence, the vintage RCA reel-to-reel tape box as the album cover). So, after what they have been through over the last decade: internal arguments, the loss of that ‘spark’ when it comes to making music, and the extensive touring around the US, etc, perhaps with the end of this contract, and the inferior state of this latest album (and the title of the album, might we add), they are hinting at something: that the end may be nigh and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Is this it for The Strokes? Will they rise from the ashes from here on out, or are they just dwindling embers waiting to be put out?

W: TheStrokes.com
T: @TheStrokes

Tags: Comedown Machine, The Strokes