From all the interviews, videos and sound bites scattered across the Internet, it’s clear that The Strokes did not enjoy creating Angles. Rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond slipped into drug rehab, and Julian Casablancas retreated from offering meaningful song ideas and sent his vocal contributions via emails to the group, seldom setting foot in the studio. With guitarist Nick Valensi telling Pitchfork that the recording process was “Awful. Just awful”, it’s obvious why The Strokes have struggled for five years to produce 38 minutes of music.
It’s immediately apparent none of the band members wanted to make Angles in the first place, but thanks to a five album contract with RCA Records hanging over their heads, The Strokes can’t walk away from one another until they cough up some fresh material, lest they face serious legal ramifications. Though most of the group seems content to play nice until the band's bureaucracy is wrapped up, Casablancas has no problem with literally phoning in material. With his phenomenal solo effort Phrazes for the Young, Casablancas proved he can flourish without the restriction of The Strokes, but faced with the threat of breaching a lucrative contract, he was compelled to complete Angles and one further album with his band mates. In light of such constraints, his enthusiasm is that of a college graduate who is forced to wear his high school clothes because all of his friends from home still get a kick out of Jnco jeans.
Considering the environment Angles was recorded in, it’s a miracle this album isn’t a total joke. Opener “Machu Picchu” features that classic Strokes guitar distortion of stuttering riffs, doing its best to assure you the band is alright. “Two Kinds of Happiness” begins as an intriguing Tom Petty-esque bopper that descends into U2-style antics, but songs like “Under Cover of Darkness” and “Taken For A Fool” are desperate attempts to fit in with the best moments of Is This It? with only a fraction of the group’s original fervor. The remaining songs writhe for identity and purpose, summarized by the key line of “Call Me Back”: “I don’t know why I came down”. And for the record, “You’re So Right” is dog shit. There’s no eloquent way to put it.
Every song on Angles develops so many desperately catchy hooks, beats and licks that you’ll wonder if the band is pulling a sleight of hand so you won’t notice the their communal apathy. Casablancas even laments “Everyone’s singing the same song for ten years” on “Under Cover of Darkness”, one of the many lyrical examples of his discontent for the band that brought him his initial fame. His flippant delivery was once a critical part of the band’s charm on their debut and the underrated Room on Fire, as deep down you understood that Casablancas believed in every word he snarled into the mike. Now he does not actually care.
With rumor that Album No. 5 is already underway, it’s clear The Strokes want out. My prediction for the band? They will undergo a quick tour in support of Angles, record and release the new album in late 2012 to mid-2013 and launch another tour NOT billed as a farewell excursion. A few weeks after the tour is complete, the band will call it quits, their contract fulfilled once a greatest hits collection is slapped onto the shelves. It’s an absolute travesty when a group’s future can be called like this, but Angles is proof The Strokes no longer care about making worthwhile music. They are a business, held together by red tape, fearful of the suits they once criticized with vicious spite. I’m ready for Album No. 5, if only to end this charade of rock rebellion.
Track List:
1. Machu Picchu
2. Under Cover of Darkness
3. Two Kinds of Happiness
4. You’re So Right
5. Taken For A Fool
6. Games
7. Call Me Back
8. Gratisfaction
9. Metabolism
10. Life is Simple in the Moonlight
