The Strokes Return with "Future Present Past"

It’s been 15 years since The Strokes changed the popular musical landscape with the release of their debut album Is This It? Prior to the album’s release, and subsequent explosion, radio and music video television -- remember this is all prior to the internet being a music delivery system -- was littered with ‘legacy’ Can Con acts, and American soft rock and ‘Alternative’ groups like Incubus and Sugar Ray. The moment people heard Is This It? the usual pop sheen that coated the production of radio hits was becoming less and less prevalent and when you looked around everyone was growing their hair out and wearing leather jackets. The Strokes were set up as rock 'n' roll saviours. The real set up though was that the expectations of their fans, and the critical community, was too high and there was no way the band, no matter what they did, would be able to rise above it. Their next album, Room On Fire, was too similar, the album after that, First Impressions Of Earth, was too different. They took some time off, worked on projects separately and together and have since returned with two new albums, 2011’s Angles and 2013’s Comedown Machine, and now with the somewhat surprise release of their new Future Present Past EP.

While both the critical and commercial response to Angles and Comedown Machine was lukewarm, the band finally seemed past the expectations that weighed them down with their earlier releases and found them more comfortable in their own skin as not only a once hugely influential act but also as artists and songwriters. Future Past Present kicks off with “OBLIVIUS” and with it the classic Strokes recipe of synth-d out sounding guitar-monies and a bass line that seems to be moving around the song rather then propelling it. The chorus is where it opens up. It’s big and confident. This is where this older and more relaxed version of The Strokes really shines. Julian Casablancas loves to let loose on a chorus these days. As is the norm, it’s hard to precisely make out what he is saying but the emotional intent is distinctly realized.  The band has never been afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves and that is more apparent with the following tracks. “Drag Queen” is an almost Blur homage, leading with a big, boxy four on the floor drumbeat and dark, Arp sounding synth strings. When the chorus hits with its, very charming, 80’s referencing guitar and keyboard melodies, the band sounds like they are having so much fun that it’s completely infectious. “Threat Of Joy” starts with a spoken word bit that sounds like The Strokes aping Jonathan Richman, which segues into something very light hearted. It’s all jangly guitars and a surf rock drum beat. The performances and parts that the band came up with on these tracks are all across the board inventive and pretty wonderful. Although the EP is only a taste, it creates the proper excitement for more new material from this older, and most definitely improved, version of The Strokes.