The Strokes - Room on Fire
Critic Score
Based on 19 reviews
2003 Ratings: #15 / 355
User Score
2003 Rank: #46
Liked by 709 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Q Magazine

Pretty much everything a second album needs to be, it's like Is This It but more emotional, more colourful, slightly better.

91
SPIN

Room's similarity to its predecessor ultimately bespeaks a purity of vision, not a dearth of new ideas.

91
Consequence of Sound
The second album from the New York garage rockers is a pivotal step in the band’s evolution.
90
Alternative Press
Better than its predecessor.
90
Gigwise

A triumph of excellent songwriting and fabulously co-dependant musicianship, ‘Room On Fire’ is the perfect second album: it builds on their early promise whilst developing at a steady enough pace to suggest that they could still get better.

90
NME
‘Room On Fire’ is a refining and tinkering with The Strokes sound, a carefully calibrated attempt not to fuck up too early in the face of untold temptations. The results are still sleek, sexy and thrilling, with a tantalising promise of even better to come.
90
Tiny Mix Tapes

Room on Fire isn't a huge progression from Is This It?, but it stands as a more polished version of the style that the Strokes have always employed.

90
Drowned in Sound
An adrenaline-fueled head-rush of precision-perfect pop tunes about modern life.
83
Coke Machine Glow

Room on Fire ultimately proves itself a worthy successor and by far one of the year's best pop-rock albums.

80
AllMusic

Some may gripe that it's never as good as the first time, but Room on Fire shows that even after all that happened to the Strokes, they can still surprise.

80
Rolling Stone
In the face of hysterical expectation, the Strokes have resisted the temptation to hit the brakes, grow up and screw around with a sound that doesn't need fixing -- yet.
80
Pitchfork

They may not be able to get away with milking this formula for many more albums, but for now, Room on Fire's eleven songs find them drowsily getting away with what they do best.

80
Uncut

His remarkable performance enlivens even the album's most underwhelming passages.

80
Mojo

The Strokes come across as a world-sized band that's tethering itself ... Nonetheless, this record is good.

80
NOW Magazine

If you bought the first album and loved it, you'll probably love Room On Fire just as much.

80
The Independent

The too-obvious (and too constricted) influences discernible on The Strokes' debut have been smoothed and moulded here into something more uniquely theirs, while the comparatively tight focus of Julian Casablancas's lyrical concerns confirms the initial impression that this albums is a more homogenous offering than Is This It.

80
Prefix

He builds atmosphere out of evocative lyrics and emotional scenery, and he does it without leaning on linear narrative or songs with singular interpretations.

75
Entertainment Weekly

Anyone who invested anything in ”Is This It” is destined to walk away from ”Room on Fire” a little disappointed.

60
The Guardian

A roaring opener, a trio of great potential singles and a remarkable slow number successfully divert attention from the fact that half of Room on Fire is uninspired filler.

Tielur
90

The only gripe I have with this record are the long silent sequences between songs.

BradTasteMusic
69

This album has some great tracks on it. I love the first 2 and last 2, but everything in the middle is extremely forgettable. While this album is very short, the mid section ruined it for me, making it feel way longer than it should have

pengtings
74

my face when i lose £5,643,733,534.55 to gambling :3

denkirena
75

I'm not huge into the strokes but this is really fun to listen to sometimes

ithixf
60

i like this album, not very memorable tho except some iconic Strokes songs which i come back to such as What Ever Happened?, Reptilia and 12:51. it's nothing too special for me and like i said the songs are very forgettable and ordinary.

depechemode4lif
74

A formidable follow up to Is This It, with some questionable mixing, some strong tracks, and a few weaker ones as well. This record is good but nothing too special.

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Track List

Year End Lists

#3/NME
#3/SPIN
#11/Pitchfork
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