Cougar Microbes

New York legends The Strokes are back, with their highly anticipated new album ‘Angles‘. Almost five years since the release of ‘First Impressions of Earth‘, it seems fair to say that their biggest fans (myself included) have been waiting on this album like the second coming of the messiah. The amount of teasers that proliferated youtube and other sites before D-day proved how high expectations stand.

On explaining the album’s name guitarist Albert Hammond Jr stated that “it’s what it sounds like. It comes from five different people.” On the other hand Nic Valensi was not so enthusiastic expressing his dissatisfaction towards the way the album was made and being quoted as saying that Julian Casablancas was often absent or recorded separately, sometimes leading Valensi to record his guitar parts alone in the studio. So much for letting bygones be bygones…

Nevertheless this album works and after a five year break we weren’t expecting less. A healthy dose of stabbing and ill-tempered guitars, a glass of Moretti‘s masterful beats, a splash of Casablanca‘s unique deep/dry howl… all the ingredients that made The Strokes one of the best rock’n'roll bands in circulation have been recovered on ‘Angles‘.

The album opens majestically with ‘Machu Picchu‘, where guitars smoothly imitate the beat of synthesisers. ‘Under Cover of Darkness‘, the first single, is probably the track that most follows a ‘Strokesian‘ tradition through its prodigious rhythm, rage and garage atmosphere.

‘Taken For a Fool‘ is in my opinion one of the highlights of the album; its ambitious rhythm and Casablancas‘ unique cry for ‘Mama‘ definitely makes it one of those songs that will stay in your head for a long time. It is even more sensational live and I would strongly recommend watching their performance on Letterman. The band also seem keen to add new beats and sounds to the mix offering a more electronic vibe on some trakcs as evidenced by ‘Games‘ or ‘Two Kinds of Happiness‘.

‘Angles‘ is not as raw as ‘Is this It‘ or dark as ‘First Impressions of Earth‘ but it should be celebrated as a fantastic return for the quintet; the members all participated and it works as a result of it. Ultimately the tracks complement each other perfectly making this a great album rather than a collection of great songs.

Moretti and Hammond cut their afros, Casablancas is not as drunk, Valensi doesn’t look like a hobbit anymore…. more than a decade has passed since we first discovered them, and they have changed, we have changed… let’s all appreciate that. Welcome back!

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Post by the irrepressible Olivia

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TRACKS:

For the next 48 hours The Strokes are giving away ‘Under Cover Of Darkness‘, the first single from the much awaited new album ‘Angles’ . It has been five long years since “First Impressions of Earth” was released to a bittersweet reception but we can look back and appreciate the darker side of that album.

The band members used this downtime to work on individual projects such as band leader Julian Casablancas’ great debut solo album ‘Phrases for the Young’, drummer Fabrizio Moretti’s summery project  Little Joy in which he proved that he is not only the reliable heartbeat that keeps the band alive but also a talented singer,  or Albert Hammond JR lovely ‘Yours to Keep’ album .

Following this self imposed break it seems they have all benefited from this extensive break and put their past differences aside. In a time where it seems that a new rock band is born every two seconds, all eyes are on the ones who revived garage rock and gave birth to what is undeniably one of the greatest albums of 2000s.

It’s time for the New Yorkers to take back their throne.

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Post by Olivia ex-les miserables.

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TRACKS:

A few weeks ago Papa Cougar and I shared an earphone each, and a tube journey home, as he played me Chicago’s Pet Lions. They were, he informed me, well overdue a review at Cougar HQ. Without hesitation I jumped at the opportunity to spout my opinionated take on debut EP ‘Soft Right’.

Let’s start off by addressing the elephant in the room; you’d be unlikely to listen to this release without immediately noticing striking similarities to The Strokes. Firstly, lead singer Karl Østby’s vocals are certainly delivered in a similar vein to Julian Casablancas’, though perhaps they lack some of the panache. This is compounded by guitar sounds borrowed from ‘Room On Fire’ and Moretti-esque, simple but effective, straight rock drum patterns.

However, Pet Lions are not rip-off merchants by any stretch of the imagination. ‘Soft Right’ unveils lyrical prowess and a knack for crafting inventive song structures. There is a strong college element to the whole affair but thankfully it is more Vampire Weekend than Wheatus. When married with confident meandering bass lines and a mature approach to space within music the overall result is a release that is more than worthy of a few spins.

Pet Lions’ ability to hammer out a catchy dynamic pop song suggests they may well graduate to bigger and better futures. If so it is more likely to be in the shape of ‘I Will Track You Down’ than the more immediate ‘Roman History’ which, despite sounding like a billboard contender, veers that little bit too close to Strokes territory.

the ‘Soft Right‘ EP is available by signing up to the band’s mailing list.

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Post by Kenny the pragmatist.

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TRACKS:

Pet Lions – Roman History

Pet Lions – I Will Track You Down