Released March 18, 2011
6 / 10
Favorites
Machu Picchu, Under Cover of Darkness, Games
Least favorites
Metabolism, Life Is Simple in the Moonlight
After a couple years of hiatus following their third studio album, The Strokes came back with "Angles", their most eclectic work yet at the time. The album marks a return to 80s dance grooves influences, radiant melodies and swift riffs. It's also a departure from their old ways, previously relying almost entirely on Casablancas at the helm of the ship; "Angles" is more of a group collaboration, a rightly-named multi-angular approach to music making. Regardless, it's not always sunny in New York, collaboration doesn't imply harmony and the record suffers from the fragmented process - or "Operation Make Everyone Satisfied" as Casablancas once called it, not the slightest bit condescendingly. The Strokes let go of their initial no-frills style for more ornamentation and new arrangements - including the use of backing vocals for the first time! - while keeping some core elements of their sound like overdubbing guitars and double tracking vocals for grander effect. They produced a good part of the album themselves, which was mostly recorded at Hammond's (guitarist) upstate home studio - and on that front, "Angles" probably needed more supervision. The disjointed gestation of the record - a lot was said of Casablancas recording his vocals separately and communicating with the rest of the band via e-mail for the greater part of the process - brought forth topics of miscommunication and speaking into the void in the songwriting. Lead single Under Cover of Darkness addresses frustrations arising from the perceived limitations on their creative freedom - especially Casablancas who sings "I won't just be a puppet on a string" as if taunting their record label. Coincidentally the track is perhaps the closest to the band's discography up to this point, presenting an upbeat fun melodic take on resentment. On the guitar-led track, Casablancas sounds distant and unemotive on all but the chorus before the song breaks and restarts almost effortlessly. The energy builds up and the guitar solo breaks the looming monotony, preparing for a light final crescendo made denser by the unusual backing vocals by Valensi (guitarist). You're So Right also touches openly upon the inability to communicate. It opens at full speed with backing vocals by Valensi (again!) on a backdrop of staccato beats. Casablancas' voice is distorted on the chorus, stretching nonchalance on a contrasting menacing composition. The bridge highlights the contrast between the message and its wrapping, shortly before the guitar spins the piece into a more somber sound. I happen to like the track but I'll gladly concede that it's a matter of taste at this point; maybe more precisely, it will depend on the listener's ease with moderate dissonance. Sounding even more personal, Call Me Back is rooted in a fear of being truthful for fear of hurt. Casablancas' voice stands out more than on most other tracks of "Angles", in the only drum-less ballad of the record. The airy track weaves in several melodic threads, running the risk of sounding disjointed at times. Beyond communication mishaps, the band has larger messages in mind but by mixing the personal and the political, the listener can quickly be turned off and miss the point altogether. Under the guise of a quirky track with a funny name that only seems to refer to a single line ("I'm just tryin' to find / A mountain I can clim"), Machu Picchu is actually quite political. It's highly skeptical of the real power of the people when it comes to democratic representation and voting ("Didn't you know there was a choice? It's never yours but someone else's voice") and highly distrustful of the Establishment ("And money pays for the lies we trust") - all to bongo-thumping, strutting rhythm that vibrates in crescendo. The bongo drums are a particularly nice touch, as is the layering of vocals on the bridge. Life Is Simple in the Moonlight, "Angles"' closer, received Casablancas' blessing: "That's probably my favorite on the album", he said of the song. He combines the personal (can it get much more personal than "There's no one I disapprove of more or root for more than myself"?) and the political ("Innocence itself in America today / Is a crime just like Cornel West might say"), diluting his bigger message in a vicious cycle of culpability and projection onto the society at large. As is that wasn't enough, the track consists of a strange collage of clashing music and influences with a post-chorus jingle that leads into a bossanova inspired verse too offhandedly for its own good. And let's be honest: some of the lyrics are so opaque that it's hard to tell pretentious bullshit for the sake of rhyming from the real deal. "Angles" pulls in many directions at the same time, multiplying the rude awakenings along the linear experience of the album. I can't help but wonder if this could have been avoided had the team been able to work more in concert. Two Kinds of Happiness distinguishes the seeking of truth and love and immediate gratification (the giving and the taking), highlighting the pitfalls of mistaking the latter for the former. Casablancas is listed as the sole writer of the track, and his vocal performance is not convincing. The song alternates between phases of acceleration and deceleration that annihilate what their predecessor builds up towards mercilessly. I find the guitar play thrilling at times, but I don't get the overall appeal of what feels like a recycled sound and jam-session vocals. On a totally different part of the spectrum, Games is a big 80s throwback backed by limpid synths and notably void of guitar. It features a series of different percussion sounds that support the sparse music and wailing Casablancas (who nails down his point that we are "Living in an empty world"). The instrumentals are ethereal and the track ends gloriously, after an impressive vocal display, with a string snippet that Casablancas has said in passing had been in the band's vault for a decade. This song had been a long time coming and it was worth the wait in my opinion. I'll briefly mention Gratisfaction, another completely different sound that really doesn't bring anything fresh to the table and features a levity at odds with the rest of the album - making it an unfortunate stand out. And if at some point you're reminded of Muse, you might be listening to Metabolism, acting as one of Casablancas' step to redemption, admitting "bein' in denial" but not doing much about it. We'll have to wait nine years (and "The New Abnormal") for him to get to the apologetic phase of his redemption tour. The funny thing about this (regrettable) track is that Casablancas himself didn't sound too convinced by the end product: when describing the album to NME he said of Metabolism that it started off very different and then "it became something else entirely, but I'm... fine with it as it is now.". If we're going by "fine", then fine, "Angles" is "fine" as a whole. I was just hoping for more from the band that breathed new life into rock music with "Is This It" in 2001 but I'll have to settle for "fine".
Favorite lyrics
"Tell me, don't tell me The hard part is telling you Something that you would not like me to tell you"
Call Me Back
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