The Strokes

Along with The White Stripes, The Strokes were in the right place at the right time as saviours of the rock genre when rap-rock groups were threatening to dominate the rock scene back in 2001. Brought together by a mutual love of the sounds of Lou Reed and Tom Petty, messrs Casablancas, Valensi, Fraiture and Moretti, all pupils at Dwight, came together to pen songs and play music. The group added guitarist Albert Hammond Jr and started playing gigs at venues across New York City, building their reputation among the city's music cognoscenti. However, after being sent a tape of their music, it was Rough Trade in the UK who signed the band and released their first record, EP Modern Age. The Strokes' first single, “Hard To Explain”, was released in June 2001 and reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, and their debut album, Is This It, arrived in September of the same year. The album managed to reach number two in the UK, despite Woolworths and HMV refusing to use its risqué cover. “Last Nite” was released as a single at the end of 2001. The group knocked out their second album Room On Fire in 2003, to acclaim, with tracks such as “Reptilia” and “Meet Me In The Bathroom” before a third album, First Impressions Of Earth, hit the top of the UK album chart in 2006, spawning the hit single “Juicebox”. Their next effort, Angles, arrived in 2011 to mixed reviews, nonetheless reaching #4 in the US charts – matching the record of its two predecessors. The band withdrew entirely from interviews and PR appearances around the release of their ensuing LP, 2013’s Comedown Machine, which was swiftly followed by a collaboration between Casablancas and Daft Punk entitled “Instant Crush”. Tiding fans over with a short EP in 2016 entitled Future Present Past while they continued to hunker down in the studio, the group eventually reemerged in February 2020, announcing an imminent studio album at a rally for presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. Entitled The New Abnormal, it arrived just two months later.

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