The Strokes – “One Way Trigger” [MP3]

A lot of you know me as ‘that dude that disappeared into the A-hole of experimental music and never looked back,’ and while I can see why, on the surface, this would be a prevailing opinion, I keep myself firmly rooted in rock ‘n’ roll by listening to Oldies radio in my car, maintaining all my old records/CDs/tapes available if I need them (you never know when Shout at the Devil is going to come calling) and keeping tabs on the few modern rock bands that matter, including The Strokes, The Walkmen, Vampire Weekend, Crystal Stilts (NOT Crystal Castles; different thing), Department Of Eagles and several more I can’t think of.

The Strokes, who, despite the reviews, are one of the few true rock ‘n’ roll bands left, period, and don’t get enough credit for the joyous music they’ve put out there over the course of four albums, recently released “One Way Trigger,” and I’ll be dipped if it ain’t one of the catchiest drips of syrup they’ve dropped yet. It’s genius the way fuse those ’80s synths to a traditional uptempo-rock format, and if Julian Casablancas wants to sing all soprano and shit, like a girl, I say let him. At least he’s getting down to business with his boys instead of farting around with side-project stuff (though I didn’t realize he wrote all the guitar parts/solos for that first Strokes record; maybe solo bliss isn’t such a far-fetched notion after all) …