Angles

The Strokes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 22, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B004J4WQ46
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,643 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Strokes announce the release date for their highly anticipated fourth album, Angles, on March 22nd via RCA records in the US, and March 21st via Rough Trade Records in the UK. Angles is the band s first new release since 2006 s First Impressions of Earth and marks the ambition of that album with the immediacy of the band s earlier albums Is This It (2001) and Room On Fire (2003). In 2010, the band returned to the road, playing and headlining major festivals in the United States and UK, including the Isle of Wight Festival, Lollapalooza, Hurricane Festival, Splendour In The Grass, Rockness, Outside Lands, and Austin City Limits. Time Out Chicago hailed the Lollapalooza performance as the best set I ve seen since covering Lollapalooza. Better than Radiohead in 2008. Better than... who headlined last year? ...The crowd...was euphoric.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 45 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not So Technical Review March 22, 2011

By A Child Without An Eye

Format:Audio CD

Ok, so I didn't do any research into who wrote what song or how they recorded them. I won't shove garbage down your throat regarding if they were bored, losing their touch or blessed by an angelic muse.

What I can tell you is that this doesn't sound like anything out there, but The Stokes.
Angles brought out a feeling of nostagic fun for my wife and I. Yes, it is a bit different than their previous albums, but I think the positive outweighs the negative here.

Angles starts out new and fresh for several songs. The vocal mix towards the end of Machu Picchu gave me chills. Under the cover of Darkness is the kind of music that drew me into this band. Two Kinds of Happiness is chock full of those passionate vocals I love and is probably my favorite song on the cd.
Best part was catching my wife dancing along to Taken for a Fool and Games in the kitchen while making lunch. Games made me feel like it was 1984 all over again :)

The album has a few songs that don't appeal to me whatsoever. For whatever reason some just feel mediocre. You're So Right screams bad Radiohead to me. Call Me Back reminds me of I got Nothing to Say, just not as good (yeah, that song grew on me) Also, with a very short run time, I wish there was an extra song or two

Strong solo efforts from Albert Hammond and Julian Casablancas have kept me more than satisfied, so maybe I wasn't dying for a new album as much as others. Maybe my expectations weren't as high. What I can't deny is enjoying the music on this album and I hope you enjoy it too.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Angles, A Masterpiece March 23, 2011

By Mario

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

Under Cover of Darkness and Machu Picchu are classics but the real gem is the Life Is Simple In The Moonlight. I feel that this album was a revival for the band and its a pleasure to see them focusing on the music with the same passion that they had for Is This It.

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Stokes "Angles" - Worth The Wait March 22, 2011

By Mark #1 HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

Angles deserves the over-exposure that so many new albums are getting these days. While "Under Cover Of Darkness" has already gotten significant play, this album is chock full of other songs that deserve attention.

The Strokes are splitting the difference with this new album. In some ways, this is more of the same music that fans have come to love from previous albums like Is This It and Room on Fire. "Under Cover of Darkness," "Taken For A Fool" and "Gratisfaction" are great examples.

And in other ways, they have clearly integrated more styles in these songs. "You're So Right" sounds like some kind of hybrid between the newest MGMT album Congratulations and classic 80s rock guitar solos. The same could be said of the closing track, which alternates styles a bit more. In fact, a full range of 80s influences are on display on this album. "Machu Pichu" has a ska guitar part reminiscent of early albums from The Police. The instrumentation on "Games" reminded me of classic Duran Duran, and mixed with Julian's vocals it is a stark contrast indeed. "Two Kinds Of Happiness" somewhat starts in the same vein, but then takes on more of a classic rock flair for the chorus and guitar solo.

Songs like "Metabolism" really could fit right in on the newest Muse album The Resistance.... The vocals are operatic, and the instrumentation takes a page out of classic metal. But The Strokes have a way of smoothing everything out so that it all sounds like rock.

There are some soft moments on this album too, like the melancholy "Call Me Back." And the album closes with the deliberate "Life Is Simple In The Moonlight," which mixes more harmonies that the other tracks.

CONCLUSION

While bands like The Decembrists and Spoon have changed their sound dramatically when compared to their earlier albums, The Strokes have just fine-tuned their sound. This definitely has the sound of their classics, but also has new ideas sprinkled here and there.

I think it's impossible to judge this album against their earlier ones. The Strokes have produced some of the classic albums of the last ten years. It's going to take some time to put this new album into context.

There is enough here to keep most hard-core fans satisfied. Still, there will always be naysayers. No album is going to please every fan, especially after all the time The Strokes spent on side projects. But for those asking if this album is worth purchasing, the answer is a definite "yes."

Enjoy. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I've found what I'm looking for! April 16, 2012

By Dr GB Dennill

Format:Audio CD

I was greatly privileged to have been born in the late 50s, schooled during the 60s and university student for the 70s & 80s. My parents played Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz, Gilberto & Jobim etc. What a kickstart! But wait for it: the first LP my mom bought me was what I still regard as the Fab 4s best: 'A hard day's night'. I soon went on to The Rolling Stones, Hendrix...and rode the entire expanding galaxy of hippie high musical gorgeousness that blossomed and bloomed during the 70s. The zeitgeist had to tire - it was just too frenetic and deliriously exhausting. It seemed that everything that could be done had been accomplished by 1979. And then came New Wave. God bless The Talking Heads, B52s, The Police, Nina Hagen punk etc. And then came the degradation of the 90s. Not to mention the 2000s. With some notable exceptions e.g. Smashing Pumpkins, U2 keeping the pot boiling, everything seemed derivative. Derivative. Nothing seemed new. Singers resorted to screaming (Nirvana and worse), metal went to death, sounding as if straight from hell itself. Serious singers felt it cool to sound all frail and feeble (REM) - and out of tune (Red House Painters). But nothing really new. Only new levels of degradation or feebleness.

So a while ago I am surfing through the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Album of all Times & The 100 Greatest Albums of the 2000s. I agree with Kid A at the top of the latter but in 2nd place is a group I never heard of (don't forget I am generally so disillusioned with more or less anything post c1989). Off to the best local CD shop but can't find 'Is this it' - only 'Angles'. So I buy it and...Kapow! Jackpot! Struck the gold!... I have finally found a rock and roll band that has influences yet is not derivative, that has a new and so excitingly different sound. A group of highly accomplished musicians. Their song writing is brilliant genius. The vocals are strong, effortless, expressive, strikingly accomplished, the voice of maestro Casblancas actually an additional instrument! I now have 'Is this it' and love it too - 4 star. Then I got 'First impressions of earth' - 5 star fosho. As with angles - 5 star. Fosho!!!

Angles is so clever - the band plays around with various styles of rock music. And while indulging all this virtuoso exhibitionism they casually create a breathtaking masterpiece! How clever is that? Like Hendrix taking pop-song 'Wild thing' and creating a monument out of it at Monterey. I think the band's very own sound is best revealed on 'First impressions..'

Now the important bit is this: I think that this band is so different, unusual, unique. This is a tall order for any rock band today, because the 60s and 70s are a hard act to follow - to put it mildly! But The Strokes have accomplished this damn near impossible feat. I sincerely believe that this band is up there with the shining gleaming stellar Stones! And I personally want to thank them for reviving my belief that someone out there could write kickass rock songs and deliver them like a blow to the head. Bravo Strokes, bravo! I am missing one album and can't wait for what is to follow! I'm you fan. Read more ›