The Strokes-Room on Fire

Room on Fire is, in my humble opinion, The Strokes at their finest. Everything just comes together so well on this album that it becomes one of those CDs where you’re just always in the mood to listen to it.

This album begins with What Ever Happened. As soon as the track starts rolling, you instantly find yourself snapping along with the beat. Yes…snapping. The song becomes unforgettable as soon as Julian Casablancas’ vocals come into play. A quick-side note about Casablancas’ vocals: I happen to love his “I just woke up and had a cigarette and coffee for breakfast” style, but I realize it’s not for everyone.

Next up is the familiar tune of Reptilia. This song is just so imaginative and wonderfully written that you can’t help but enjoy it. When the chorus builds up one instrument at a time, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed by goosebumps.

Moving right along, we have Automatic Stop. This song is a little different. When the song opens, the guitar has a sort of uplifting rhythm to it, but once the song kicks in it goes in a very unexpected direction. It caught me off guard the first time I listened to it. I admittedly didn’t like it at first. But after the poppy, upbeat, almost “techno-rhythm” chorus kicks in; you start to understand it. By the second verse, you really get what they were going for and begin to love the creativity of it.

The next three songs (12:51, You Talk Way Too Much, and Between Love & Hate) all Stroke along with catchy Strokes-esque choruses and genuine “The Strokes” goodness.

The next song to really grab my attention was Meet Me in the Bathroom. Nikolai Fraiture’s bass line in the hook really steals the show here. This is one of the songs that definitely stuck out in my mind and really set the tone for the entire album. Bravo, The Strokes.

Under Control is also pretty awesome. It’s one of the most laid back/enjoyable songs I can think of. Those who know me know that I enjoy going on long, leisurely walks, and this is the perfect song for such an activity. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and you don’t have a care in the world….this is when you listen to this song.

The Way It Is takes you from the slow pace of your leisurely walk to the high speed cruise of the open road. It’s an up-tempo jam with an unapologetic amount of distortion coming at you from every direction.

The End Has No End is kind of a blend between the rockin’ side of The Strokes and the poppy-radio friendly side, but it all meshes together beautifully.

To end Room on Fire, The Strokes send us off tappin’ our toes with a catchy lil’ tune that makes you want to reminisce about something that brings a smile to your face, whether it be it be your glory days of high school or that time you found a 20 in the pocket of those jeans you haven’t worn in a while (Score!).

While this album is fantastic, it is not for everybody. The music is very straightforward. While it is very well written, you won’t hear anything too technical here. Also as mentioned before, the vocals are very stylized and to some, may sound uninspired if you don’t understand what Casablancas is going for. But if you’re in the mood to chill with some good friends, talk about the good ol’ days and just let it all hang out, then Room on Fire is for you.

The Damage:

4 out of 5 Mustaches.