No one could have imagined months ago that The New Abnormal, The Strokes new album that has come out today, would have a more appropriate title for the times that have touched us. When months ago the legendary New York band from this is it announced the title of the album to the world, we still did not intuit what was coming upon us with the global confinement due to the Coronavirus epidemic. Indeed, spending the day locked up at home has become the new and abnormal status quo. To make the wait a little more pleasant for us, The Strokes have scored an epic 45-minute sixth studio album. We warn you: this is not a Angles nor of a Come down machine. Seven years of silence is too many.
Analysis, translation and meaning song by song of The new abnormal, The Strokes new album
Impressive melody that progresses towards musical madness and revolves around a dominant bass line. Its sound is somewhat reminiscent of One way Trigger, and certain sections of the chorus could easily fit into Hawaii, another New York masterpiece.
With everything, The adults are talking it has enough ingredients to be a gem with its own personality. And that ending… please. We would have loved to hear how that guitar progression ended. so happy that it slowly dies on us (and that we could hear something more in the live version than a fan cleaned for Youtube).
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2. selfless
selfless It's the first real new song from The Strokes on their new album for all of us who had heard it almost a year ago. The adults are talking. The first litmus test: are we facing a new room on fire otherwise, The new abnormal will be a intercourse interrupted a lo Angles? All you have to do is lean out for a few seconds selfless to know the answer. Blessed mother of god, THE STROKES ARE BACK.
Brooklyn bridge to chorus starts like any song could start Dua Lipa's new album Future Nostalgia. And this is strange. Luckily, the distorted voice of the New Yorker Casablancas does not take long to appear. And he does it to make clear the predominant message of The Strokes' new album: I'm lonely, I love you but not anymore. Brooklyn bridge to chorus follows the intimate side started with selfless and radically exploits it with a letter in which Casablancas plays with double meanings, alcoholism, love and friends.
A bad decisions what happens to The adults are talking. Bad decisions is another one of those welcome advances but that, deep down, we wish we hadn't heard so that today, April 10, we could enjoy the largest number of unreleased minutes in The new abnormal. bad decisions is an undisguised homage to Billy Idol's punk anthem, dancing with myself, where Julian Casablancas, in addition to dancing alone and sad, makes many mistakes and is not afraid to confess. Of course, the fault is hers.
Personally, it isleast brilliant of the songs on the new Strokes album. WE OPEN UMBRELLA: bad decisions is perhaps the least inspired and most poppy/soft rock-pop of all the songs The new abnormal. This doesn't mean we don't like it. In its first bars, both for atmosphere, voice and riff, bad decisions sounds like a decaffeinated song Green Day. That said, as the seconds progress, things improve.
eternal summer it's a rarity poppy by The Strokes that starts and ends with an atmosphere of Tame Impala and then dresses up as Pink Floyd for the chorus. The Casablancas cries seem to have been uttered by Roger Waters himself in TheWall. The 5th cut of The new abnormalit's a melody whose lyrics could not be more cryptic. Honestly, it's hard to even guess the theme of this song. The same thing happens to him Ode to the mets.
It is necessary to make it clear that, unlike what happens in the rest of The new abnormal, we have two new names in the credit titles in the authorship de Eternal summer. British post-punk banners Richard and Tim Butler of the psychedelic furs have participated in the composition of this hieroglyphic theme. And you can see it.
That "summer is coming", together with "they have the remedy but they will not let it happen") and the biblical allusions to the eleventh hour (the final and decisive moment), make eternal summer the official soundtrack of those confined by the Coronavirus.
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6. at the door
at the door is a strange psychedelic ballad with many Daft Punk touches that, as happened with ode to the mets, we were able to listen for the first time on the occasion of the concert in support of Bernie Sanders offered by The Strokes last month. We already know this song by heart to its curious anime-style video clip, gloomy aesthetic and message, once again, difficult to understand.
As with the wonderful selfless y Brooklyn bridge to chorus, at the door tells us about the loneliness of Julian Casablancas, divorced last year from Juliet Joslin after 14 years of marriage. If we look back at the first album signed by the band with its already married vocalist, we will find a curious wink.
Julian Casablancas reviews his life before success, when too much free time was detrimental. in why are sundays so depressing Casablancas even says that he misses having a normal job. Clearly, he doesn't know what he's saying.
The most remarkable aspect of the song is its constant change. At no time does he settle into a single sound or structure. In a way, there are four or five songs by The Strokes contained in Why are sundays so depressing, a theme that at times reminds 12: 51, but also Someday and many clear influences from The Voidz (the borders between The Strokes and The Voidz than with this disc). Not to mention the exceptional final stretch with a magical guitar solo. As Albert Hammond Jr. usually does.
Not the same anymore is perhaps the most confessional and sad song of the whole tracklist de The new abnormal, The Strokes' new album. Unlike what is seen in topics such as Why are sundays so depressing o EternalSummer, in this beautiful nostalgic poem that is Not the same anymore Julian Casablancas now takes much of his blame in their romantic relationships.
Drums please, Fab….ode to the mets makes sense? The last song on the album is a slow and soft melody that mixes the intimacy of selfless y brooklyn bridge to chorus, but without the madness of guitars and much of the hieroglyph of impossible meaning that is Eternal summer.
Legend has it that there was once a person who was able to understand the lyrics of Julian Casablancas. There are several eclogues that speak of this mysterious being of unknown identity, but none are certain. The rest of the common mortals have to settle for intuition. Decode the aroma given off by the songs signed by the The Strokes it is one of the many incentives that his re-listening brings us.
What do critics say about The new abnormal?
Contrary to what happened in 2013 with come down machine and in 2011 with Angles, The Strokes new album this time seems to be to the taste of music critics. To us, of course, it has convinced us.
Rick Rubin's production is noticeable on all four sides. The sound of the New York band on their new album is different, immaculate and convincing. Sometimes Poppy. Sometimes electronic. Casablancas plays a variety of portentonsa registers, falsettos included, of course.
In the absence of the massive publication of opinions (which we will receive shortly), we have already been able to learn some positive evaluations from the chosen few who have already been able to listen to the full nine cuts of The new abnormal.
Mark Kennedy of Associated Press, has titled his review assuring that the Strokes "have succeeded" for the first time in seven years. It seems that Kennedy was not very happy with the 2013 EP Future, present, past (which included one average song and two A's, IMHO).
«The New Abnormal is a supreme portion of rock indie, varied and complex, with elements of glam and pure dreamy-pop", says the music critic, later recalling that the album is produced by Rick Rubin. And it does not stay there. Released 19 years after its legendary debut in 2001, The New Abnormal manages to culminate the potential that it announced in its day "This is it." Will it be for that long?
The Independent has given four stars (out of five) to The New Abnormal, saying about the album that it has a certain air of eighties graffiti (obvious allusion to the painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat that illustrates this already iconic album cover that makes vinyl an almost mandatory purchase.
How to listen to the new album The Strokes, The New Abnormal
nick valensi, Albert Hammond Jr..
The Strokes in a promotional interview for The New Abnormal for Inrockuptibles.
In our humble opinion, The new abnormal It is a reunion with the best Strokes of all time, but with a renewed sound, strange at times, and more than convincing.