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Track List
01) Machu Picchu
02) Under Cover of Darkness
03) Two Kinds of Happiness
04) You're So Right
05) Taken for a Fool
06) Games
07) Call Me Back
08) Gratisfaction
09) Metabolism
10) Life Is Simple in the Moonlight
01) Machu Picchu
02) Under Cover of Darkness
03) Two Kinds of Happiness
04) You're So Right
05) Taken for a Fool
06) Games
07) Call Me Back
08) Gratisfaction
09) Metabolism
10) Life Is Simple in the Moonlight
3:32
3:57
3:43
2:33
3:24
3:53
3:03
2:59
3:04
4:15
Data Complete
80%
Total Rating
80%Total Rating
(3 users)
Back Cover
CD Art
3D Case
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3D Flat
3D Face
3D Spine
First Released
2011
Indie
Enlightened
Rock/Pop
---
Medium
Album
0 copies
Album Description
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Angles is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band The Strokes, released on March 18, 2011 in Australia; March 21, 2011 in the UK; and March 22, 2011 worldwide. It is their first album since First Impressions of Earth (2006), their longest gap to date between studio albums.
After touring in support of First Impressions of Earth, The Strokes went on an extended hiatus in 2007 and then regrouped two years later to begin writing new material for a fourth album. The album took more than two years to materialize, with the band recording live demos of 18 songs before heading into Avatar Studios in New York with producer Joe Chiccarelli. Not long after recording began, however, the band became frustrated with Chicarelli's reserved production style. Only one song from these recording sessions, "Life Is Simple in the Moonlight", remained on the album's tracklisting. The Strokes recorded the rest of the album's material with engineer Gus Oberg at a converted farmhouse near guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr.'s Port Jervis home in Upstate New York.
Singer Julian Casablancas largely removed himself from the other four Strokes during the recording process, going so far as recording his vocals remotely at Electric Lady Studios and sending them to the band via email. Likewise, most communication between Casablancas and the rest of the band took place via email, and, according to guitarist Nick Valensi, most of the singer's ideas and suggestions were written "in really vague terms", leaving the others without much to go on. Casablancas' literal distance was a deliberate attempt at forcing the other members to take control of the band's creative process, a task which he had hitherto dominated. In an interview with Pitchfork, Casablancas stated: "When I'm there, people might wait for me to say something. I think it took me being a little mute to force the initiative". While Casablancas’ disengagement may have been by design, Valensi found the whole experience deeply dissatisfying. "I won’t do the next album if we make it like this. No way. It was awful- just awful. Working in a fractured way, not having a singer there. I’d show up certain days and do guitar takes by myself, just me and the engineer." Hammond's drug abuse and resulting rehab - stemming from his breakup with model Agyness Deyn - was another hurdle the band faced during the album's production, as he missed early recording sessions.
User Album Review
Time isn’t kind to the cool. Disappear for too long, and nobody bats an eyelid when you return, fanfare conspicuous by its utter absence. Arriving over five years since their last LP, 2006’s First Impressions of Earth, white-hot-back-when NYC combo The Strokes could have so easily found themselves beside the likes of Razorlight and Toploader in the pile of re-emerging artists probably without a place in 2011. But they’ve avoided such a fate by putting together what might actually be their very best record yet.
Yes, you read that right: Angles isn’t just the equal of the band’s lightning-in-a-bottle debut of 2001, Is This It, it might be better. There are several moments here where the five-piece exhibit an infectious immediacy that’s presented in parallel with some genuine ingenuity, and the effect on the listener is to stop what they’re doing, focus fully on what’s unfolding, and then rewind to hear it over again. Take the strutting punk-funk bass of Two Kinds of Happiness ”“ unremarkable in isolation, but soldered to sprightly percussion and real yearning in Julian Casablancas’ voice, as well as some frenetic six-string fret-work, it’s a vital constituent of a whole that’s fairly flabbergasting. If rendered graphically, one would have to picture early U2 and Talking Heads on a seesaw with The National acting as a fulcrum.
Taken for a Fool harks back in production tonality to the scratchy lo-fi charm of Is This It, but flexes significantly developed melodic muscles compared to a decade ago ”“ this is a track, one amongst several, that will bury itself into one’s head for the long-term after even the most fleeting of encounters. It isn’t the only number here with a new-wave feel to it ”“ and this move from 1970s garage revivalism to mining the cooler sounds of the 1980s for elements of inspiration pays serious dividends. Games opens like New Order in their prime, all glossy synths and solid bass, and closer Life is Simple in the Moonlight takes cool keyboards reminiscent of Scandinavian pop-experimentalists Mew and hits 88 miles per hour ‘til they’ve arrived back in 85. Casablancas doesn’t sound like a megastar at any point ”“ he’s hungry, scrappy, like a newcomer ahead of the hype crest. For the first time since Is This It, he sounds a part of the gang rather than the stand-apart leader of it.
Truly, there’s so much to love about Angles that picking it apart seems as ridiculous as dissecting an expensive tray of chocolates, setting fillings aside from their delicious casings. They, like this record, taste far better with everything properly combined ”“ and with all five members contributing, in harmony, The Strokes have here upped their own ante like nobody could have foreseen. Except for the band members themselves, of course. Prepare to be smitten anew.
External Album Reviews
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User Comments
Available in:
Angles is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band The Strokes, released on March 18, 2011 in Australia; March 21, 2011 in the UK; and March 22, 2011 worldwide. It is their first album since First Impressions of Earth (2006), their longest gap to date between studio albums.
After touring in support of First Impressions of Earth, The Strokes went on an extended hiatus in 2007 and then regrouped two years later to begin writing new material for a fourth album. The album took more than two years to materialize, with the band recording live demos of 18 songs before heading into Avatar Studios in New York with producer Joe Chiccarelli. Not long after recording began, however, the band became frustrated with Chicarelli's reserved production style. Only one song from these recording sessions, "Life Is Simple in the Moonlight", remained on the album's tracklisting. The Strokes recorded the rest of the album's material with engineer Gus Oberg at a converted farmhouse near guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr.'s Port Jervis home in Upstate New York.
Singer Julian Casablancas largely removed himself from the other four Strokes during the recording process, going so far as recording his vocals remotely at Electric Lady Studios and sending them to the band via email. Likewise, most communication between Casablancas and the rest of the band took place via email, and, according to guitarist Nick Valensi, most of the singer's ideas and suggestions were written "in really vague terms", leaving the others without much to go on. Casablancas' literal distance was a deliberate attempt at forcing the other members to take control of the band's creative process, a task which he had hitherto dominated. In an interview with Pitchfork, Casablancas stated: "When I'm there, people might wait for me to say something. I think it took me being a little mute to force the initiative". While Casablancas’ disengagement may have been by design, Valensi found the whole experience deeply dissatisfying. "I won’t do the next album if we make it like this. No way. It was awful- just awful. Working in a fractured way, not having a singer there. I’d show up certain days and do guitar takes by myself, just me and the engineer." Hammond's drug abuse and resulting rehab - stemming from his breakup with model Agyness Deyn - was another hurdle the band faced during the album's production, as he missed early recording sessions.
User Album Review
Time isn’t kind to the cool. Disappear for too long, and nobody bats an eyelid when you return, fanfare conspicuous by its utter absence. Arriving over five years since their last LP, 2006’s First Impressions of Earth, white-hot-back-when NYC combo The Strokes could have so easily found themselves beside the likes of Razorlight and Toploader in the pile of re-emerging artists probably without a place in 2011. But they’ve avoided such a fate by putting together what might actually be their very best record yet.
Yes, you read that right: Angles isn’t just the equal of the band’s lightning-in-a-bottle debut of 2001, Is This It, it might be better. There are several moments here where the five-piece exhibit an infectious immediacy that’s presented in parallel with some genuine ingenuity, and the effect on the listener is to stop what they’re doing, focus fully on what’s unfolding, and then rewind to hear it over again. Take the strutting punk-funk bass of Two Kinds of Happiness ”“ unremarkable in isolation, but soldered to sprightly percussion and real yearning in Julian Casablancas’ voice, as well as some frenetic six-string fret-work, it’s a vital constituent of a whole that’s fairly flabbergasting. If rendered graphically, one would have to picture early U2 and Talking Heads on a seesaw with The National acting as a fulcrum.
Taken for a Fool harks back in production tonality to the scratchy lo-fi charm of Is This It, but flexes significantly developed melodic muscles compared to a decade ago ”“ this is a track, one amongst several, that will bury itself into one’s head for the long-term after even the most fleeting of encounters. It isn’t the only number here with a new-wave feel to it ”“ and this move from 1970s garage revivalism to mining the cooler sounds of the 1980s for elements of inspiration pays serious dividends. Games opens like New Order in their prime, all glossy synths and solid bass, and closer Life is Simple in the Moonlight takes cool keyboards reminiscent of Scandinavian pop-experimentalists Mew and hits 88 miles per hour ‘til they’ve arrived back in 85. Casablancas doesn’t sound like a megastar at any point ”“ he’s hungry, scrappy, like a newcomer ahead of the hype crest. For the first time since Is This It, he sounds a part of the gang rather than the stand-apart leader of it.
Truly, there’s so much to love about Angles that picking it apart seems as ridiculous as dissecting an expensive tray of chocolates, setting fillings aside from their delicious casings. They, like this record, taste far better with everything properly combined ”“ and with all five members contributing, in harmony, The Strokes have here upped their own ante like nobody could have foreseen. Except for the band members themselves, of course. Prepare to be smitten anew.
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