The Strokes are having the most polarizing rollout of their career. ‘Falling Out Of Love’ is the second single from ‘Reality Awaits’, available this summer, and all the criticism that ‘Going Shopping’ received is maximized on it. Some elements work, but others make us slowly fall out of love with the New York band.
Let’s address what the general public has taken to be the biggest problem with The Strokes’ next album: autotune. What in ‘Going Shopping’ was an anecdote, affecting very little the melodic and instrumental aspect of the song, is almost the center of ‘Falling Out Of Love’. Yes, it may be too powerful. And yes, it helps the song sound like a kind of demo.
However, the biggest problem here is not this tool, but the fact that it is difficult to recognize The Strokes in the composition. Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr.’s guitars are present in the mix, but they barely interact with each other. Fab on drums and Nikolai on bass are on autopilot. Overall, the instrumental base is too simple. Why does ‘Falling Out Of Love’ sound like a Julian Casablancas solo song?
And it’s not that The Strokes don’t know how to make ballads. There were a few of these on ‘The New Abnormal’ and none of them sounded out of place. The length of the new single also has a lot to do with it, exceeding 6 minutes, but with almost no new elements after the 10th second. What you hear is what you get (until the last minute, which could have been cut). And within this, not everything is bad.
The melodies of ‘Falling Out Of Love’ are undeniably catchy, especially those that run through the verses, and they combine very well with how devastating the lyrics are: “I’m in love with a ghost / I’ll be alone always and never,” Casablancas sings. Also well received is the super nod to Lou Reed in the frontman’s voice throughout the second verse. Finally, as was the case with ‘Going Shopping’, we are certain that ‘FOOL’ sounds much better live.
«It’s my favorite album of all the ones we’ve made. “I can’t express how beautiful it is,” Albert Hammond Jr. said in an Instagram post, while responding to one of the song’s haters. One thing is certain: ‘Reality Awaits’ aims to be one of The Strokes’ most different albums. Let it be good, that’s something else.
Charging …
