The Top 20 Albums of 2011 - #17 - The Strokes: Angles

The Top 20 Albums of 2011

#17 The Strokes: Angles

Words by Dirk Calloway

Preface: You're reading the fourth entry in a daily series. Each day, I'm posting a review about one of 2011's best albums. Over the next 3 weeks, we'll work our way up to the 'Best Album of 2011'. You can catch up on missed entries by clicking this link here.

Angles was The Strokes' fourth album in a decade. In 2001, they had the freshest sound in indie-rock, and they were partially responsible for a continuing fad where every band begins with the word "The". Fast-forward 10 years, 3 albums and various attempts at solo careers and we have... a completely dull and uninspired indie-rock scene. So, could Angles jump-start everyone into making arresting music again? Would apathetic lyrics rule the airwaves once again? These questions were swirling through my mind in the weeks leading up to the album's release. The first single - Under Cover of Darkness - was promising enough:

It's a classic Strokes blend: two duelling (yet somehow complimentary) lead guitars, a sulky Casablancas vocal that soars into the final chorus, and an 8-bit feel from the rhythm section. But, that's all that it is. It isn't a broadside to all the young whipper-snappers in tight jeans out there aiming to take over the rock world. It isn't a reinvention of The Strokes Sound (TM). It isn't a newfound love of collaboration between their vocalist and the band. It also isn't a change in tact, lyrically. From the sound of that single, very little has changed in the course of 10 years. Hell, the band even acknowledge it in a line of the song, saying "everybody's singing the same song for 10 years." I'm sure my grandkids will be impressed at the consistency of The Strokes' oeuvre, but those of us who are alive in the here and now can be forgiven for asking "is that it?" after listening to Under Cover of Darkness. Fortunately for The Strokes, and for their fans, that is not it at all... Angles has more to meet the eye than its punchy lead single. Check out their second single, Taken For A Fool:

Hell yes. That's more like it! That right there is an evolution of the The Strokes style. As bass player Nikolai Fraiture said, "Sonically, I feel it's the album which should have been made between Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth." I'm not sure I fully agree with him, mind. I'm a big fan of their unfairly maligned third record, and thought it evolved just fine from their previous albums. Angles is an even bigger leap forward than that though, and as such feels like a fresher album. Check out the song Games, for an idea on how far from the path they've strayed:

Love it. Beautiful song. The only thing I can say wrong about the album is that there isn't enough to punch in your fist in the air about. The Strokes have proven they can make good music again, and they've proven they can use different methods to still produce a great sound. Their challenge now is to prove they've got a late-blooming masterpiece stashed away somewhere. Imagine if they can pull off a coup like Radiohead's In Rainbows, or The Beach Boys' Sunflower, or even Kanye West's My Beauitiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: albums that proved their artists were capable of gold at any point in their careers. Angles, like Amnesiac, or like 808s and Heartbreak, is not a masterpiece, but it's hopefully a stepping stone along the way to another.

Tune in tomorrow to find out who made the 16th best record of 2011. It's by a Wellington -based group. Also, if you want to catch up on the other posts in this series, click here.