“Juicebox”
from the forthcoming First Impressions of Earth
(Rough Trade – available on iTunes)

Yeah, so the Strokes – those guys still around? Yes, apparently, and they’ve just put out a new single.

Barely.

Guys, honestly, I liked it more when you were spending months in the studio with $30,000 of rack gear to make you sound lo-fi. Now that I can hear your polished guitar-and-bass dynamic, I’m unhappy to report that I’m just not comfortable with you, the Strokes, having a guitar-and-bass dynamic. Incidentally, when did you guys get a bass player? I thought the Russian one was sort of a cute Sid Vicious or something – stage presence, sure, but don’t plug him in.

Come to think of it, forget the bassline … when’d you guys become the Afghan Whigs? And why? Don’t get me wrong – iTunes customers are eating this up, and it’s got every indication of being a prime radio single. This week’s charts show the song nestled at the twenty-fifth spot, right between Jack Johnson and Korn. I’ll let will let the reader formulate his own punchline. All this reviewer can say is, I guess I liked the Strokes before they were uncool.

Reviewed by Dan Ray