Strokes’ Hit Highs & Lows On Comedown Machine


Don’t write the Strokes off. If they want to, they should continue to make albums or at least EPs. Sure they haven’t made an album as explosively awesome as their debut, Is This It?, since well . . . Is This It?, but each of their subsequent albums has contained at least some strong material. 2011’s Angles included “Under Cover Of Darkness” which will stand as one of the band’s all time best songs. Have humbled expectations and check out their latest, Comedown Machine, because it too has some worthy tunes even if there is some filler.

The modus operandi for Comedown Machine is moments of classic Strokes interspersed with some 1980s new wave-influenced music as well as a few other experiments. For songs that are more “old school” Strokes, check out “All The Time” and “50/50”. “80s Comedown Machine” is a cool mellow song that fits in the vein of some of the material the Strokes did on First Impressions Of Earth. The opener, “Tap Out” is pretty decent too and would have fit well on Angles. “Welcome To Japan” sounds like they are trying to be the Virgins, but it is still fun. The dancy “Happy Ending” is one of the album’s most compelling songs and definitely warrants a listen. The rest of the album is a jumbled and mixed bag. Comedown Machine does indeed get better with each listen, but as mentioned earlier; it combines quality Strokes material with . . . other stuff.

Essential tracks: “Happy Ending”, “Tap Out”, & “50/50”.  The album can be streamed here.

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