After three grueling years, four side projects, and a couple attempts at recording, the garage style band The Strokes released their highly anticipated fourth album “Angles” on March 22.
Fans have been looking forward to this album, but while the boys from New York were on a hiatus, there were a couple things they were doing individually. It seems as though all of the group members needed their time away from each other. Though there were no real arguments brewing or grudges held, the time away from each other was time for each member to refocus on their individual music. Nearly all of the Strokes were at one point working on their own solo projects, aside from lead guitarist Nick Valensi, who had his eye set on photography. It was these side affairs that shaped the new album, and what in itself, changed the sound of the band altogether.
“The sound changed a lot,” sophomore Elcy Lopez said. “I liked their old sound better and Julian’s voice sounds different on this album.”
It’s obvious that the new sound definitely isn’t like the older tracks such as “Someday,” or “Hard To Explain,” but to others, the new sound brings something different to the table. In a way, the LP makes the five piece seem as if they were less constricted making this album more so than the past three. The music on “Angles” brings a strong part of Casablancas’ solo project, with different 80s inspired waves of sound, yet the percussion on the album keeps true to the original drumming on The Strokes’ past work.
“Something about this album is important,” senior Robert Carrasco said. “Even though it is different, I still respect the music and it was about time for the band to actually try something new. They owed it to themselves.”
While working on the ten track “Angles,” the band also ran into some more trouble. Shortly after hiring legendary producer Joe Chiccarelli(famous for working with bands such as Arctic Monkeys and MGMT), the band grew tired of working with Chiccarelli’s time management and disbanded from the prior engagement of studio time. The members all decided to work in a place where they knew they could really express themselves and feel comfortable—Albert Hammond Jr.’s studio.
“Being a big fan of the first album, it was hard to get used to this one,” senior Christopher Sarabia said.
“I like how they’re trying to create a new sound and even though the tone of the album is softer, I still enjoy it.”
Though this is a revolution of sound for The Strokes, they still continue to work on their music, and plan on releasing another album later this year or early next year, because many tracks couldn’t fit on “Angles.” The band plans to kick off their North American Tour this fall, headlining at the Coachella Music Festival, on April 18.