Comedown Machine by The Strokes

 7/10 
Rated:(I can't get no) Satisfaction 

Not as amazing as i could have been, not as boring as it feels like. The Strokes new album has nice beats that remind their debut album with bits of their latest albums. The band now sounds more Australian and less European, so they as always are trying to not be Americans but is always good how they play this mix of music styles.

Although the record sound fake and even pretentious the result is kind of good and entertaining is not astonishing but is not really awful which leaves it in the indifference side. Is an album that is to adorned and polished that has a lack of The Strokes but when they shown up they do it great, 'Partners In Crime' and '50/50' have that edginess and rock joy that is like the Strokes signature but sadly some songs has this thing do it wrongly that sounds faked or very forced.

The album may suffer from the absence band's unique style that sounds natural but is good that The Strokes are experimenting and there are plenty of variety to hear.Songs are very different but in the same style, 'Call It Fate' is the most alternative and weird has a Blur's 13 style mixed with Latin notes but is a nice close to a sound that has been growing track by track. When I wrote the review to The Virgins' Strike Gently i said that wasn't very related with Julian Casblancas' style but with this album is easy to understand the influence each band gave to another (Welcome to Japan). Unfortunately the instruments overtakes the voice (80's Comedown Machine, Slow Animals) and result is quite confussing . the album sounds pretty 1980's brought to the present like 'Happy Endings' that sound a lot like a The Virgins version of Madonna's Holiday, many synths doing a great job and giving fun to this quiet party.

We would expect more from the band but maybe this album was too neat and there is where the band feel lost but what balances is the fact that they are looking for new vibes.It is not the best work but to compared with last two albums it isn't their worst.

Recommended:  Call It Fate, Call It Karma; Partners In Crime;  50/50
Not So Much: Slow Animals, All the Time,Slow, 80's Comedown Machine