Review – The Strokes – Angles

I have some real issues with The Strokes in all honesty, and for some reason, have just never “got them” in the slightest. I am not quite sure why either, especially since I have a couple of mates who have consistently championed them over the years. I have just never really liked their music, and other than Last Nite, and perhaps Reptilia, can’t even name a track of theirs that sticks in my memory. As for those two, they are not bad tracks, but they are not as essential to me as a lot of people would argue. It completely perplexes me how they are so big as a band, and how they are considered to be worthy festival headliners too.

I saw them support Foo Fighters at Manchester LCC in 2006, and they were completely dire, and their 45 minute set was just painful to watch. In short, it was just boring.

Being conscious of the arrival of their third album, I thought that I would have a listen, and see if I could enjoy this as a body of work, with all preconceptions shelved for the short time spent listening to this.

If I was to be brutally honest, this is a terrible album. It is just awful, and the songs are just dull, unmemorable, and instantly forgettable. Although I listened with an open mind, it did nothing for me, and the fact that bands are still making music this bad in 2011 is shocking to me. Under Cover Of Darkness was the only song on the record that was bearable, and half-decent, but even still, it is not particularly great. I don’t know, but I anticipate that that was the first single, because if it wasn’t, I would be hard pushed to pick any other song on Angles that could justifiably be a single.

Indulgent, rubbish, and completely shocking. This is exactly the type of toss that the Indie scene sees way too much. There is nothing to get hold of with this release, and the fact that it hit top 3 in the charts is a sheer insult to the tonnes of phenomenal bands out there who can’t get anywhere near the upper echelons of album charts across the world. Where are bands like The Killers when you really need them? It is surely about time they made a long awaited return, and released a decent Indie album to put this rubbish to shame.

Awful.

0.5/10 - only for the half decent Under Cover Of Darkness