Reality Awaits
The Strokes · Indie Rock
“Siz o'zingizni qaytadan kashf qilishingiz shart emas edi, faqat hamon shu yerda bo'lishni istayotgandek eshitilishingiz kerak edi, va eng yaxshi lahzalarda nihoyat shundaysiz.”
The New Abnormal'dan olti yil o'tib, The Strokes yettinchi albomi Reality Awaits bilan qaytmoqda. Albom Rick Rubin tomonidan ishlab chiqarilgan va undan oldin chiqqan ikki singl guruh nihoyat yana guruh bo'lishga osongina kirishib ketganini sezdiradi. Going Shopping bo'sh, ohangdor va yozgi, Falling out of Love'da taqlidchilar hech qachon to'liq ushlab ololmagan o'sha bemashaqqat jangle bor, Albert Hammond Jr. esa avvalgisidan ko'ra bo'shroq plastinkani va'da qildi. Dastlabki dalillarga ko'ra, u rost gapiryapti. Gap shundaki, The Strokes bilan har doimgidek, bo'shlik va dangasalik o'rtasidagi farqda. Bu 2001-yilda musiqani o'zgartirgan va yigirma yil davomida o'zining ilk o'n bir qo'shig'iga qarab baholangan guruh, bu la'natni Rick Rubin'ning qanchalik isiriq tutatishi ham yengillata olmaydi. Psycho Shit va Going to Babble On kabi nomlar zavqlanayotgan guruhni eslatadi, bu yoqimli, ammo zavq hech qachon savol bo'lmagan. Savol shundaki, Julian Casablancas hamon bunga parvo qilmagandek eshitilishni istaganidan ko'ra ko'proq xohlayaptimi. Singllar beradigan narsa qulaylik, o'zi nima ekanini aniq biladigan guruhning iliq tanishligi. Ular hali bermaydigan narsa esa silkinish, bu narsa mavjud bo'lishi shart edi degan tuyg'u. Reality Awaits The Strokes'ning juda yaxshi albomi bo'lishi mumkin. Ammo u zaruriy albommi, mana shu, ular taxminan 2003-yildan beri yopishga urinib kelayotgan tafovutdir.
The Strokes biror groovega tushib olgach, buni deyarli hech kim ulardan yaxshiroq qila olmaydi, ikki singl esa kimyo buzilmaganini va ohanglar hamon bemashaqqat kelayotganini isbotlaydi. Rick Rubin buyuk guruhga yo'l berishni biladi, bo'shroq va baxtliroq The Strokes esa qaytib kelishi chinakam yoqimli narsa.
Graded on the world's harshest curve
“This is the seventh album from a band whose debut Is This It still defines them, and every release since gets measured against 2001 rather than on its own terms.”
The fix Lean all the way into the looser, happier identity the singles hint at instead of chasing the ghost of the first record.
Loose can shade into coasting
“Albert Hammond Jr. promised a record looser than The New Abnormal, and titles like Psycho Shit and Going to Babble On read as a band amusing itself first.”
The fix Keep the looseness but aim at least a couple of songs squarely at the jugular, the way the early singles always did.
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