Angles- The Strokes

New Yorkers fail to reverse career decline on their fourth

2011 finds The Strokes in a strange place. Topping endless “best of the decade” lists last year with endlessly influential debut Is This It, two lacklustre follow ups leave the question posed on said album seem even more appropriate. After nearly half a decade away, the New Yorkers need Angles to be a masterpiece.

So is this the album to improve The Strokes’ fortunes? In a word, no. For any other band, this would be a half decent return, but the weight of expectation has dented its impact, in a depressingly inevitable way.

Moments of greatness are still in evidence. First single Under Cover Of Darkness is a bold attempt to recapture the thrill and rush of their early singles- Julian Casablancas singing in his trademark sarcastic drawl, as the guitar work of Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr scorch the earth. Opener Machu Picchu also does well to set the scene: bright, exciting and full of fire, with Casablancas’ talking of a “mountain to climb”. You’re telling us...

The opener is also an indication of the newest element on show: synths. Clearly influenced by the pop electronic work of Casablancas’ quietly brilliant solo debut, it means that rather predictably, the 80s are in. While they imported the keyboards, they’ve clearly left behind the soul and lust for life, as songs like Games and Two Kinds of Happiness feel like hollow and tired impressions of that era. You’re So Right is worst of the lot- a droning, low-key and forgettable dirge.

The new moves pay off on two tracks: Taken For A Fool marries up the new elements nicely: the band finally sound engaged and it’s filled with a seemingly endless array of indie-pop hooks. Call Me Back brings it all down to a more introspective level, a simple sound masking unsettling backing vocals and surprisingly complex arrangements.

Julian Casablancas has always sounded bored, which against the tightly wound guitars and drums is part of what made The Strokes great . But for the first time, the rest of the band has a degree of listlessness too. Personal disagreements that have been well documented do explain why they sound so bereft of ideas. It goes little way to help them in a year that their clearest acolytes The Vaccines have put indie back on the map. The Strokes really needed to pull it out the bag. For the most part, Angles fails to deliver.

2/5

Best Tracks:
Machu Picchu
Call Me Back
Under Cover Of Darkness

Wounded Rhymes- Lykke Li

None blacker for Scandanavian chentuese’s second...

In you case you don’t recognise the name; Lykke Li is responsible for one of the best pop debuts in recent memory- 2008’s Youth Novels. However, coming to prominence at the same time as fellow Swede Robyn meant Li’s brand of sweet and edgy pop failed to make an impact of the wider public.

Second time around, Wounded Rhymes is everything a great sophomore effort should be: darker, more mature and willing to explore new territory. Out go the coquettish and coy lyrics, leaving behind the more throwaway acoustic laments, and in comes deadpan humour, and songs dripping in dead-eyed sex and heartbreak.

Last year’s first taster Get Some was a great omen for Wounded Rhymes. Dark, brooding and intense, it’s beautifully out of step with modern pop trends: far from gleaming, it’s rough and raw. With a powerhouse beat and huge chorus, it’s the song that finds Lykke Li move from girl to woman, reclaiming her sexuality as “your prostitute”.

It’s a big act to live up to, and sadly nothing else on the record quite reaches these dizzying pop heights, but there’s still plenty to savour. Second single I Follow Rivers and opening gambit Youth Knows No Pain show off a new found ambition, with more choruses purpose built for the Radio 1 playlist. Everything else finds the album is shrouded in gloom, and it’s the most downbeat moments that stick in the head the most. Unrequited Love and Sadness Is A Blessing are especially sad, while Jerome and Silent My Song showcase a damaged and hurt person, but one fully in control of her own emotions.

The comparisons to Robyn are perhaps inevitable. Although she shares her nous for a pop song and all-conquering independence, gothic hints and a more earthy version of the hurt bruised sensuality of Kate Bush combine to make Lykke Li an original artist all of her own.

4/5

Best Tracks:
Get Some
Unrequinted Love
Jerome
Sadness Is A Blessing

Wasting Light- Foo Fighters

World’s biggest rock band goes back to basics for career-defining seventh...

For a man who has made a career out of escaping a very large shadow, Dave Grohl has made some odd decisions on Foo Fighters’ latest. Namely, he’s employed the services of three key Nirvana players: touring guitarist Pat Smear has returned full time, Krist Novoselic plays accordion on one track, while behind the desk sits Nevermind producer Butch Vig.

After successfully finding distance and becoming a bonafide rock god at 2008’s Wembley shows, it seems a strange time for Dave Grohl to return to those days. However, Wasting Life isn’t an album about dining out on the past: it’s about accepting it. It’s a shame then that the work of Vig and Novoselic have hogged headlines ahead of release. The big news here really is that this is the best adult hard rock album since Queens Of The Stone Age’s Songs For The Deaf nearly a decade ago, as well as being the most complete Foo Fighters album yet.

Despite unhappy rumblings in the camp in the run up to Wasting Light’s release (mostly over the accompanying documentary Back & Forth), this is the most unified the band have sounded. Dave is still very much leader of the pack, but the return of Pat Smear has clearly had a big impact, as when it wants to rock out, the guitars on Wasting Light are huge. Those disappointed by the lacklustre, disjointed and strangely weightless first single Rope have nothing to worry about as it’s the weakest thing here. Everything else carries real power and strength, without ever quite being the balls-to-the-wall hardcore that was talked up during recording. The only concession to this claim is gleeful screamer White Limo: coming in with big riffs, and throaty vocals- the Foos are having a blast. Bridge Burning is the other big, exhilarating track, and is a wonderful statement of intent: the band are tight, and it stands out a mile in an era lacking big rock anthems.

Elsewhere, the best moments find Grohl opening up as a songwriter. Always afraid to show us the real Dave behind the “nicest man in rock” enigma, posturing is forced out as a mood of often tender reflection bounce off the big guitars. These Days finds Dave in conversation with himself, showing a man plagued by self-doubt and tragedy: “I said it's alright/Easy for you to say”. Dear Rosemary, a duet with Bob Mould from Grohl heroes Husker Du, finds vocals at their most nakedly emotional.

Best of the lot stands as I Should Have Known: a restrained and heartbreaking lament to a friend Grohl lost to overdose in 2008. Novoselic’s appearance on it will raise obvious misinterpretations, but the maturity and emotion in the melodies allow it to rise above this, while it’s lingering regret (“I can not forgive you yet”) make it a definite Everlong beater, and possibly the best song the band have recorded.

It’s far from a perfect album- the usual Foo filler makes an appearance. Tracks like Back & Forth and Arlandria carry pretty McCartney-esque hooks, but amongst other stronger material they come up lacking. Despite this, it’s a powerful album for a band who have always been better at singles. During its best moments, Wasting Light makes you forget the heavy weight of events past that hangs over everything Dave Grohl his done since 1994. Which is probably the whole point anyway.

4/5

Best Tracks:

I Should Have Known

Bridge Burning

Dear Rosemary

White Limo

Different Gear, Still Speeding- Beady Eye

Same as it ever was for Liam & Co...

Well no one saw this coming. For his post-Oasis debut, Gallagher The Younger has gone Dubstep-electro with hints of Radiohead-tinged...

I’m joking obviously.

Different Gear, Still Speeding is exactly what Beady Eye as a band suggests: they sound exactly how Oasis would without the creative grip and songwriting nous of Noel Gallagher. It’s not what you could call a disappointment as such, mostly because it’s so bewildering in its crushing predictability. There’s certainly no attempt to rock the boat of what has already passed.

You’ll know the story of this album’s birth by now: Noel and Liam have one last fight; Noel disappears into the ether to be a father, while his younger sibling takes the rest of the band and attempts to reconnect with his roots.

Liam has painted Beady Eye’s first as an attempt at a version of a fierce debut from a new, young and exciting band. In many ways it’s worked. The whole thing sears with a raw and occasionally contagious energy that would shame bands half their age. This comes through best on two tracks: opening salvo Four Letter Word and piano-rocking Bring the Light. The former is as naughty as its brilliant title suggests, with some rather wonderful guitar work and Liam's Neanderthal snarl as full-bloodied as ever. Bring the Light meanwhile is pure forward momentum, sitting halfway between Paul Weller and Jerry Lee Lewis' piano punch. It’s certainly one of Liam’s best songs- closer to The Meaning of Soul than Little James. That’s as good as it gets though.

Oasis were known for shamelessly ripping off their idols (see Imagine’s piano in Don’t Look Back in Anger, or The Importance of Being Idle’s approximation of Sunny Afternoon), but Beady Eye take it to faintly ridiculous new levels. Instant Karma is lifted wholesale in unremarkable lead single The Roller, whilst Wind Up Dream is pure Let It Bleed-era Stones' creeping darkness. Liam was never the family’s best songwriter either, and he’s in his element here. All words are treated as a necessary evil; most songs filled with mindless gibberish, but it gets more embarrassing when Gallagher tries to get “deep”: The Morning Son’s title is cringe-inducing enough, but when we deal with words like “he’s in my mind/he’s in my soul/he’s even in my rock and roll” well...Dr Suess would like his rhyme scheme back, thank you.

None of this would matter too much, but what’s most maddening is that Gallagher is surrounded by talented people, all experienced enough to be able to stand up to him as quality control. Beatles And Stones, for instance (yes, he’s going there) is Liam’s grand folly: essentially declarations of greatness equaling long-held idols over a carbon-copy of the riff from My Generation. Why did no one say this wasn’t good enough?

As a starting point for a post-Oasis career, there is nothing on display to suggest a new voice or any attempt at something new. It all leaves the feeling of a slightly pointless exercise and an opportunity missed. Unless some of Beady Eye’s apparently incendiary live music finds its way onto record, Noel remains the one to watch.

2/5

Best Tracks:

Bring The Light

Four Letter Word