935. The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

Track Listing

1. Is This It
2. The Modern Age
3. Soma
4. Barely Legal
5. Someday
6. Alone, Together
7. Last Nite
8. Hard To Explain
9. New York City Cops
10. Trying Your Luck
11. Take It Or Leave It

Review

There are pros and cons to this album. The cons consist of the fact that the band's sound derives too much from the Stooges and Iggy, Lou Reed, Television and The Cars. The pros consist of the fact that the music derives from the Stooges and Iggy, Lou Reed, Television and The Cars.

The Strokes repackage some great influences for the 21st century. They do in a way that ends up making their album a bunch of fun while also stripping their influences from a lot of their depth. Stripping good influences from depth is probably the defining characteristic of the whole hipster movement, which is pathetic and sad.

That being said, the album is very infectious, as a piece of pop it is better than almost anything around at the time, as danceable, singalongable music it works perfectly, and if you don't compare them to their influences it is a truly enjoyable album to listen to.

Track Highlights

1. Barely Legal
2. Last Nite
3. New York City Cops
4. Take It Or Leave It

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

According to Metacritic, which combines reviews from the nations top critics, the album has a 90% approval rating from critics, thus receiving the title of a "universally acclaimed" album.

Barely Legal: