File Under: Rock rating: A tracks 1. Is This It? 2. The Modern Age 3. Soma 4. Barely Legal 5. Someday 6. Alone, Together 7. Last Nite 8. Hard To Explain 9. When It Started 10. Trying Your Luck 11. Take It Or Leave It related links The Strokes

It’s about time someone actually got the idea that less is more. While most bands are trying to incorporate orchestras into their songs, or to do 300 guitar tracks all over-layed to the point where the sound is unable to be reproduced live, we get the Strokes who are keeping rock music simple.

Combining classic rock elements with modern pop intelligence, The Strokes bring something back that listeners today have almost forgotten about, a hook.

Vocalist Julian Casablancas, who is also credited as the sole songwriter, weaves his voice between simplistic rhythm guitar riffs and creates an infectious melody that will be stuck in your head for quite a while.

The power of this album can’t be appreciated on a single listen. The amazement comes on the second listen, when suddenly you know all the words and recognize all the hooks. It’s rare that a band takes the time or has the talent to write songs this simple and appealing.

The lyrics are usually cryptic throughout the songs. A listener can get a gist of a song and pick out a few oddities amongst the obvious, but in the end, they’re fun and aid in the establishment of the songs’ melodies.

Smart rock doesn’t have to involve an overloading of instruments and tracks, it’s just got to captivate the audience and make people take notice. The Strokes will definitely make people notice, even if they do refuse to make videos for their songs.

Samuel Barker is Senior Editor. Contact him at suma@rockzone.com.