Tuesday, April 30, 2013

what kind of asshole drives a lotus?


Comedown Machine-The Strokes

     While recording Angles, Julian Casablancas told Rolling Stone that they had been recording songs that  influenced by 70s rock. Comedown Machine, apparently, would be the 80s counterpart.
      Besides the similarity to Julian's disappointing and sluggish Phrazes of the Young, the boys make their influence  glaringly obvious with tracks such as the somewhat monotonous namesake '80s Comedown Machine" and the almost over-synthesisized "One Way Trigger". (On the bright side, at least it does make for a very danceable song.)
      As to where there's any of that original Strokes sound left, you could either be a purist and go huddle with your Is This It album or accept that the band has been gradually evolving in style and that it's not necessarily a bad thing. One of the ironic drawbacks of having one of the greatest debut albums of all time is that you're going to spend the rest of your career trying to match it, and often failing your fans' expectations.
Of course, fans will search for Julian's signature raspy voice  or ache for something more exciting-Comedown Machine lives up to its name in that the second half of it slows way down in thrill factor).
But Julian's guttural sound can be found in at least one song, rocker "50/50", in which he loudly begs not to be judged and the insanely catchy "Welcome to Japan" is sure to be a favorite to those aching for the Strokes' melodic garage rock, and to anyone else really. That song is great.
      Speaking of great, check out that great big RCA logo-That's the Stroke's way of commemorating the five years of the contract they had with the record label. Now that their stint together has come to an end, who knows where the Strokes will go next?

No comments:

Post a Comment