The Strokes’ ‘Is This It’ Was Too Good (25 Year Anniversary)

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The Strokes are a band that has found their following among indie lovers across the world, with British fans being a huge majority. It’s no wonder they are often lumped into the same category as the likes of The Wombats and Two Door Cinema Club.

‘Is This It‘ had an impressively strategic release, with a variation of release dates that coincided with their world tour of the time. The first release date was in Australia on 30th July 2001. People now regard this as its first official release, even if not every country had received it yet. The U.K. would have to wait almost a whole month before receiving the album on 27th August.

Right Place, Right Time

The New York band had already reached the underground music scene. Earlier in the year, they had dropped their debut EP. ‘The Modern Age‘ had a sound that was built upon for this album. Singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas was the driving creative force behind the record’s soundscape. He focused his efforts on maintaining the raw, unfiltered sound that the band aimed to achieve. It gave the record an authentic feel at the perfect moment. Along with contemporaries like The White Stripes, there was certainly a craving for aspects of garage rock in the early 21st century. The charts were varied in sound, but the rock scene was feeling unfiltered and raw, an aspect of grunge that felt here to stay. The success of singles on this LP, such as ‘Last Nite‘, only demonstrates just how appreciated this sound was amongst listeners.

A real highlight for me is the track ‘Alone, Together‘. The riff is distinct, whilst the rhythm guitar helps to maintain the feeling of the overall album. It’s one of the more distinct songs on this record, with a great bridge that Julian sings in an almost melancholic way. Another high point of this track for me is how well the vocal distortion fits into the mix. Whilst this is true throughout, here it feels like a real high point. This would go on to be a signature feature of the band.

Immense Popularity

Critics and fans loved ‘Is This It‘. Considering this is a debut record, the reviews are exceptional. It received five stars from the likes of NME and Q. It even gained a rare 9.1/10 from Pitchfork! However, this isn’t a feeling that has faded in the past 25 years. The record still frequently enters lists of great albums of this century and is spoken about in high regard. The group definitely found their niche with a British audience. The UK album and singles charts made room for the album, with chart positions higher than in its home country.

Starting on such a high is a difficult plight. Their sophomore work, ‘Room On Fire‘, was unable to achieve the same level of critical acclaim and record sales. Yet, I’m unsure whether the narrative that they peaked too soon is correct. There’s definitely a level of influence with this debut, but I’d be lying if I said it contained many of my favourites by the group. Even their later hits such as ‘The Adults Are Talking‘ and ‘Reptilia‘ feel much more mature and well-written to me than the likes of ‘Someday‘. This record is overall well-written, authentic, and an extremely strong debut. Some research into their later work definitely shows there’s more to the band than just their opening.

Rating: 7/10

The Strokes are on Instagram, X, Threads, and TikTok. You can stream ‘Is This It‘ below or buy it, and read more album reviews here.

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