The Strokes, ULU, November 29 2005
To these ears, 'Room On Fire' was a bitter disappointment, the sound of a band frozen by fear like a rabbit caught in headlights as it struggled to grasp the enormity of its situation. For sure, tucked away amongst its grooves were some genuine pearls of greatness but the muted production and overall feeling of hesitancy that characterised their sophomore effort conspired to reveal the burden of following up the planet-shagging success of 'Is This It'. Certainly, if The Strokes have been under any inordinate pressure to deliver the goods with their forthcoming 'First Impressions Of Earth' album, there’s very little evidence of it here tonight.
The Strokes come out fighting. 'Juicebox' is cranked to the max as Nicolai Fraiture’s growling bass locks horns with Fab Moretti’s drums to create an undeniable sense of excitement and tension before detonating courtesy of Albert Hammond and Nick Valensi’s demented guitars and Julian Casablancas’ impassioned howl.
Of course, a degree of familiarity helps – thanks in small part to the internet - but right now, The Strokes are about to take the plunge by offering a generously tantalising glimpse of the new album and while it’s fair to say that if the new material is hardly a radical departure, it’s certainly a re-invigorated band delivering it. This is no bad thing as The Strokes have gone back to doing what they do best which is purveying deliciously twisted guitar pop that refuses to outstay its welcome.
As the zigzagging arpeggiated guitar harmonies of 'Red Light' draw to a close, nods of approval are exchanged around the venue and 'Heart In A Case' re-affirms what was hoped for – The Strokes are back on form and nowhere is this more apparent than on the pure Blondie pop of Electricityscape. Of course, there are a couple of misfires; 15 Minutes and 'You Only Live Once' slow things down unnecessarily and would be best left on the album but hey – who’s quibbling when we have the Billy Jean – aping 'On The Other Side Of The Fence' and 'Razorblade', a track that has the sheer brassneck to take Barry Manilow’s 'Mandy' into a dark alley for a damn good seeing to?The jerky intro to 'Last Night' sends the venue into spasms and it’s an energy that The Strokes feed off as Nick Valensi throws more shapes than is typical. A ferocious 'Hard To Explain' is conclusively reclaimed from Freelance Hellraiser’s 'A Stroke Of Genius' while new life is breathed into 'The End Has No End' and Reptilia. Any doubts that may have been harboured at the start of the evening have been conclusively dissipated.This is a performance that cuts through the bullshit and hoopla surrounding tonight’s event and one that sees The Strokes as contenders once more. First impressions? Welcome back!
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