Tuesday, January 03, 2006

First Impressions of 2006

Play it: The Strokes First Impressions of Earth

There's a lot to be excited about, music-wise, with great music releases on the horizon for early 2006. The Strokes' third album released today, however, is a bit of a let-down.

Releasing an album the first Tuesday after the new year is akin to Nick and Jessica announcing their divorce the night before Thanksgiving... a hope to catch the discerning public (ie., the hype machine) unawares. Thus, with expectations amply lowered, it's with great dismay that it's still a bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of highlights on First Impressions of Earth, but considering there are 14 tracks, it's not enough to make up for the lowlights. I give the Velvet Underground proteges credit for attempting to try new things, but a lot of it just falls flat, under a weight of weariness bordering on... well... just plain boredom.

If you edit this album down from the nearly 60 minutes to a concise 40 minute slice, I think you have a fine album. Songs like the opening two tracks ("You Only Live Once " and leadoff single "Juice Box,") "Electricityscape," and "15 Minutes" (all of which were leaked awhile ago) make for a fine album , but on the whole, First Impressions feels like it's weighted down with too much filler. Thank goodness for digital downloads, as you can create your own third Strokes album - and I've created my own (Play it, tracklisting in comments.)

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2 comments:

Shawn Anderson said...

The Strokes First Impressions of Earth (true album tracklisting)

01. You Only Live Once
02. Juicebox
03. Heart In A Cage
04. Razorblade
05. On The Other Side
06. Vision Of Division
07. Ask Me Anything
08. Electricityscape
09. Killing Lies
10. Fear Of Sleep
11. 15 Minutes
12. Ize Of The World
13. Evening Sun
14. Red Light

Shawn Anderson said...

The Strokes First Impressions of Earth (Drake's take)

01. "You Only Live Once"
02. "Juicebox"
03. "Heart In A Cage"
04. "Razorblade"
05. "On The Other Side"
06. "Ask Me Anything"
07. "Electricityscape"
08. "Killing Lies"
09. "Fear Of Sleep"
10. "15 Minutes"
11. "Red Light"