You know how it feels to hear nails on a chalkboard, right? How excruciatingly grating it is? It just makes you want to rip your hair out, bang your head on a wall, and/or wring the neck of whomever is producing such ungodly sounds, right? It's not very common for such noises to produce a sheer visceral feeling like that. Now, picture this:

Instead of nails, you have a man screaming his guts out over a mic that almost sounds like it reached its peak ten decibels ago, his vocal chords ... read more

I really don't get the hate for this album. Sure, it's not Is This It or Room On Fire, but it's still the Strokes making nice, catchy songs, but with a more new-wave/pop sound. I actually feel it's their most sonically diverse album, as it blends together a mix of pop rock, new wave, traditional punk rock, and some other sounds that I can't even begin to describe.

The album starts off on a strong note with the near-danceable tune Tap Out. I can't quite put the sound of this song into words ... read more

Just goes to show that 2000s rock is something completely unique, and can never be replicated quite the same. This is a truly outstanding indie rock/punk-ish(?) album that emits both sweet (Maps, Modern Romance) and over-the-top (Tick, Pin, etc.) energy, and everything in between. Karen O's vocals are raw, hyper, and silly (in a good way).

Not that this album has any outright bad songs, but I feel like a few of them are a little dull, especially in comparison to the more explosive ones. The ... read more