Released: 2013

Genres: Post-Punk Revival, New Wave, Indie Rock

The Musiquarium’s Comedown Machine Review Score: 8.5 out of 10

2011’s Angles polarized fans, as it abandoned The Stroke’s gritty N.Y.C. post-punk sound in favour of eighties new wave; it had also been their first album in six long years, so expectations were high. The new direction had polarized many fans, but many embraced its exciting new direction. Only two years later, The Strokes returned with Comedown Machine, whose artwork resembles an old RCA demo tape, which may have confirmed the fear that some fans had speculated: that this album was rushed-out to fulfill a contract with RCA, thus the low-effort artwork. Fortunately, Comedown Machine does not sound like a contractual obligation at all.

Tap Out opens the album with Julian Casablancas’ falsetto, which is all over this album. All the Way was a bit of a weak single, but it feels more like your typical Strokes song than the other single, One Way Trigger, which sounds somewhat like A-Ha’s Take On Me. Welcome to Japan is full of exotic guitars and Casablancas begging the question of what kind of asshole drives a Lotus? 80’s Comedown Machine uses a cascade of synthesizers to create a hypnotic synthetic ballad. 50/50 is one of the album’s heavier songs. The lounge vibes of Call It Fate, Call It Karma make for one of the most unique songs in the band’s back catalogue.

Although it has nothing on an album like Is This It and might feel a little lightweight, Comedown Machine is still quite good and deserves more love than its gotten.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view The Strokes on Discogs.

Back to the 2013 Album Guide or the The Strokes Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard