'Comedown Machine' Is The Strokes' Weirdest Album Yet
The New York City band the Strokes exploded out of the gate twelve years ago with their highly acclaimed album, Is This It. Since then, they've put out several more records, but not without rumors of possible breakups, band in-fighting, and some pretty harsh reviews. Today, the group releases their fifth album, Comedown Machine. Steven Hyden, staff writer for the sports and pop culture site, Grantland, tells us his thoughts on the new record — and relays a conspiracy theory going around about the band.
On his assessment of Comedown Machine:
“I like this record, and I feel like I might be the only person who likes this record…. It’s not the strongest record they’ve ever made, but it’s certainly the weirdest, and I think if you’re a Strokes fan, there’s a lot to appreciate in that context."
On the Strokes’ conspicuous lack of press appearances and interviews to promote the record:
“I mean, all the band did basically was rip the [their last album, Angles], talking about how horrible it was to make. Julian Casablancas wasn’t in the studio, he was disengaged, and that coverage ended up informing a lot of the narrative on the record. After that, people started talking about how disjointed it sounded and how kind of perfunctory a lot of the songs were. I don’t know if maybe the band is like, ‘Well we’re just not going to say anything this time and maybe people won’t judge it based on what we’re going to say about the record.’ I don’t know. But there’s definitely been a pronounced lack of chatter from the Strokes about this record.”
On the Strokes’ inseparable connection to September 11:
"What made them important early on was that they were associated with this moment in time. Is This It came out on September 11, and the Strokes were associated with New York City at that time…. If you don’t live in New York, you kind of attached your emotions about what New York represents to the Strokes, and I can’t help but think that the baggage of all that — that’s attached to Is This It — it what makes it seem more important than their other records."
