mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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is this it?
Is This It? Released: 2001 Rating: 8/10 Track listing: 1. Is This It/ 2. The Modern Age / 3. Soma/ 4. Barely Legal/ 5. Someday/ 6. Alone Together/ 7. Last Nite/ 8. Hard To Explain/ 9. New York Cops/ 10. Trying Your Luck/ 11. Take It Or Leave It Rock isn’t always about being original. It’s not always about breaking barriers. Still, Is This It feels original and groundbreaking, if only because of the sterile and plain competition on the charts. The Strokes truly are refreshing. It’s lo-fi once again, with clear influences from Velvet Underground, The Stooges, The Clash and Nirvana. Borrowed ideas, borrowed with no second thoughts or shame, this is rock and roll with catchy melodies, punk attitude and all your weight on the gas pedal. Something that’s worth mentioning is how songs such as the title track, “Barely Legal” and “Hard To Explain” actually rock without being noisy or very loud. Most bands seem to hide behind a wall of distortion and think they rock just because they’re loud. That’s not the case here. The Strokes play their instruments with an approach that manages to get the very best out of them. If the songs weren’t good enough to grab you, the energy and attitude surely will. And if for some reason you find any filler tracks here, they’re probably too short to bother you much, anyway. Is This It is based on short, up to the point songs that leave the bullshit behind. Rock musicians don’t always have to be very smart; sometimes being able to count to four is enough to create a little bit of magic.
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