The Strokes

The Strokes are an American rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. They were a leading group of the early-2000s garage rock revival and post-punk revival movements.

The release of their debut EP The Modern Age in early 2001 sparked a bidding war among minor labels, with the band eventually signing to RCA Records. That summer, they released their debut album, Is This It, to widespread critical acclaim and strong sales. It has since appeared on numerous "greatest albums" lists. It was followed by Room on Fire (2003) and First Impressions of Earth (2005), both of which sold well but failed to match Is This It in immediate critical success, despite positive reviews nonetheless.

Following a five-year hiatus, they released Angles (2011) and Comedown Machine (2013) to generally positive receptions but dwindling sales. Following the end of their initial contract with RCA, they released the Future Present Past EP (2016) through Casablancas' label Cult. The band were relatively inactive throughout the rest of the decade, making infrequent live appearances and directing most media attention to individual projects.

In 2020, they released their first studio album in seven years, The New Abnormal, produced by Rick Rubin and released through Cult and RCA. The album received highly positive reviews and was considered a return to form by critics. It went on to win Best Rock Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

History

Formation and The Modern Age EP (1998–2001)

Lead singer-songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarist Nick Valensi, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti started playing together as teenagers while all of them were attending Dwight School in Manhattan, and formed an informal band in 1997. They later added bassist Nikolai Fraiture to their ranks, a close childhood friend of Casablancas who had attended the Lycée Français de New York with him. At the end of 1998, the group invited guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. to play with them. He had just moved to New York City and reconnected with Casablancas, whom he knew from their brief stints at the private boarding school Institut Le Rosey, near Nyon, Switzerland. At this point, he was the last member to join the band. The two soon became roommates not long after reconnecting, with Hammond remarking that "two weeks later, we were sharing a flat."

In the following two years, the band practiced and performed tirelessly in New York City. Many of their contemporaries have credited the band's earliest successes to their dedication and hustle, as well as their engaging personalities. They practiced most nights, with many rehearsals taking place in The Music Building in Midtown Manhattan. They played their first show as the Strokes on September 14, 1999, at The Spiral. They soon frequented Manhattan's rock clubs including HiFi Bar and the Luna Lounge on the Lower East Side of New York, and later Manhattan's popular Mercury Lounge. A young booker for the Mercury Lounge, Ryan Gentles, eventually quit his job to become the band's manager.

The band began rehearsing a 14-song set (an early blueprint of the Strokes' 2001 debut, Is This It), including "Alone, Together", "Barely Legal", "Last Nite", "The Modern Age", "New York City Cops", "Soma", "Someday", "Take It or Leave It", and "This Life" (an early version of "Trying Your Luck"). Most of these songs now feature different lyrics. The band connected with producer Gordon Raphael in 2000 following a show at Luna Lounge and made a demo, The Modern Age EP, with him. The band sent the demo to the newly reformed Rough Trade Records in the UK, sparking interest there, and leading to their first release (via the website of the UK magazine, NME, who gave away a free MP3 download of "Last Nite" a week prior to the physical release as part of The Modern Age EP in 2001). The EP sparked a bidding war among record labels, the largest for a rock band in years. In August 2001, the Strokes made their first appearance on the cover of the publication The Fader in its ninth issue.

Is This It (2001–2002)

The Strokes released their debut album, Is This It, in Australia in July 2001, and in Japan and the UK in August 2001 before the release of a subsequent US version in October 2001. The Australia, Japan and UK dates coincided with promotional tours in the respective countries. These included the Reading and Leeds Festivals at which the band were moved up the billing twice due to rapidly growing interest, shifted from being due to play on a tented stage to a slot on the main stage, that attracted their largest audiences up to this point.

The album was produced by Gordon Raphael, as was their follow-up album Room On Fire. RCA Records delayed the North American (US) release over concerns with the album's cover and lyrics. The internationally released cover features a black-and-white photo of a gloved hand on a woman's naked backside, shown in semi-profile (photographer Colin Lane's then-girlfriend) while the North American version replaced it with a photo of particle collisions in the Big European Bubble Chamber. RCA replaced the track "New York City Cops" with "When It Started", as the former featured potentially inflammatory lyrics in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The track "New York City Cops"—featuring the refrain, "New York City Cops, they ain't too smart"—was listed as No. 12 on New York magazine's "Ultimate New York Playlist" on March 1, 2010. Despite its delayed release (and the potential controversy), Is This It received critical acclaim—among other accolades, four stars from Rolling Stone, and a 9.1 from Pitchfork Media. The album made many critics' top-ten lists, was named the best album of the year by Entertainment Weekly and Time, and (in an article previewing summer concerts) NME urged readers to attend The Strokes' shows—as they were touring some of the "best pop songs ever". While critics noted the influence of CBGB stalwarts Television, Casablancas and bandmates said they had never heard the band, instead citing the Velvet Underground and the Doors as reference points.

After the release of Is This It, the band toured around the world—including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America (the band opened for the Rolling Stones on numerous occasions during the North American leg of their tour). The self-made mini-documentary "In Transit" was filmed during the summer tour of Europe. In August 2002, the band headlined the UK's Carling Weekend festivals for the second time, subsequently playing at New York's Radio City Music Hall on a bill with the White Stripes. Jack White joined The Strokes on stage to perform the guitar solo on "New York City Cops". During that period, the band also appeared as musical guests on numerous late-night talk shows. Is This It yielded several singles and music videos, all of which were directed by Roman Coppola.

Is This It has had an enduring impact on fans and critics alike. In 2009, NME named Is This It as the Greatest Album of the Decade (2000s). The album placed second on a similar list compiled by Rolling Stone (the same issue featured a list of the '100 Best Songs of the 00s', featuring "Hard to Explain" and "Last Nite" at Nos. 59 and 16, respectively). In January 2011, Rolling Stone surveyed their Facebook fans to determine the top ten debut albums of all time. Is This It came in at number ten and was also the most recent behind Pearl Jam's 1991 debut.

Room on Fire (2003–2004)

The group began recording their follow-up in 2002 with producer Nigel Godrich (best known for his work with Radiohead), but later split with him in favor of Gordon Raphael, the producer of Is This It. Recordings with Godrich were never revealed. In August 2003, the band toured Japan, playing a couple of the upcoming songs: "Reptilia", "Meet Me in the Bathroom", "The Way It Is", "Between Love & Hate" (formerly known as "Ze Newie") and "12:51" (formerly known as "Supernova"). The band also played Paul Anka's "My Way" with Japanese lyrics. The Strokes released their second album Room on Fire in October 2003. It received praise from critics but was less commercially successful, although it still went gold. The album's sound maintained The Strokes' familiar reference points, while also evoking groups such as the Cars, Bob Marley, and Blondie. In the process, they made the cover of Spin Magazine for the second time, with each member receiving his own cover. They also made the cover of Rolling Stone for the first time. Additional media coverage of the band came from the relationship between Moretti and actress Drew Barrymore, which ended in January 2007. The first single taken from Room on Fire was the song "12:51", which used distinct keyboard-like sounds produced by Valensi's guitar. The video was also directed by Roman Coppola, and was inspired by the futuristic look of the 1980s film Tron. This consisted of a mainly black scene, with instances of glowing picton blue and riptide.