The bad ass garage rock band from New York gets their groove back with fun alt-rock jam

The song title sounds like it could have gone the scenic route of Metallica’s “Fade to Black,” but the pop-friendly, tubular post-punk lead single off of Angles, the Strokes’ newest record in five years, is anything but eerie. Lead singer Julian Casablancas controls the song like The All-American Rejects’ Tyson Ritter handled “Dirty Little Secret.” His performance, spiked with grimy vocals, carries much of the song’s responsibilities, but the rest of the Strokes carry their weight as well. On top of the Wham! ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ rhythms from Fabrizio Moretti, the opening guitar riffs, tweaked with an instant awestruck string harmony, feels like the most perfect way to open such a fun rock song. Two minutes into the track and a guitar solo from Nick Valensi gives Casablancas a quick break from the mic. Just as the song opens, the Strokes land their airborne rock on the runway in the same manner it took off. With one listen, the song proves to be a delicious return to familiar Strokes stuff. Even if you’re not all that hip on revisiting nostalgia, it’s moments like this that make you wish reunions like this lasted forever.

J MATTHEW COBB

LISTEN TO:
THE STROKES – UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.