The Strokes: Comedown Machine

After a string of increasingly underwhelming albums, I had written off The Strokes. Remarkably, however, the NYC quintet appear to have found a new lease of life on their fifth album, Comedown Machine, a rather unusual mix of gaudy, synth-driven retro-future rockers, with echoes of Daft Punk and Kavinsky, and experimental downtempo efforts. In this context, the oddball first single ‘All The Time’ – an idiosyncratic electro rocker whose sheer strangeness caught many listeners off guard – makes much more sense. Opening track ‘Tap Out’ follows the basic template established by the single, with the shiny production giving the tune a certain ironic distance (which continues through the record – it’s futuristic, but an ‘80s idea of futuristic).

This playful feel, sadly absent on The Strokes’ last couple of albums, continues on the Prince-goes-indie ‘One Way Trigger’, featuring a falsetto vocal from Julian Casablancas and a guitar solo that strays into hair metal territory. High risk stuff, this could easily have turned into a debacle, but the band’s melodic flair (also making a welcome return) ensures otherwise.
The infectious sense of fun is particularly notable on one of the standout tracks, ‘Welcome To Japan’, which – bearing in mind the album’s more experimental flourishes – is perhaps a reference to David Sylvian’s art-rock combo. Over an art-funk back drop, Casablancas delivers a catchy chorus, and a bona fide laugh out line in, “Didn’t want to notice... what kind of asshole drives a Lotus?”
Elsewhere, ‘80s Comedown Machine’ is a Bowie-esque slice of low-key art-rock, ‘Partners In Crime’ features gonzo guitar riffing a la Sonic Youth, and the moody synths and falsetto vocals of ‘Chances’ recall The Associates. Closing track ‘Call It Fate, Call It Karma’ is a beautiful piece of tranquillised chillwave, its title apparently taken from a Bill Murray line in Ghostbusters – which is as good a way to close an album as any.
Permanently surrounded by rumours of feuds and infighting, with Comedown Machine The Strokes have proven that – like Real Madrid – they’re still capable of pulling together and producing results.