The Strokes

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Strokes are an American rock band from New York, formed in 1998. The line-up has stayed the same since the beginning: the singer and main songwriter Julian Casablancas, the guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., the bassist Nikolai Fraiture and the drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Casablancas, Valensi and Moretti played together as teenagers at the Dwight School in Manhattan. Fraiture was a childhood friend of Casablancas. At the end of 1998 Hammond joined.

Music and breakthrough

In 2001 the EP The Modern Age was released, which set off a bidding war between small labels. The group signed with RCA Records and released the debut album Is This It that year, with Last Nite. The album received praise from critics and has since appeared on many lists of the best albums. Room on Fire followed in 2003 and First Impressions of Earth in 2005. After a five-year break came Angles in 2011 and Comedown Machine in 2013. In 2020 The New Abnormal appeared, produced by Rick Rubin. That album won a Grammy for best rock album.

Influence

The Strokes were among the leaders of the garage rock revival and post-punk revival in the early 2000s. Their music is guitar-driven and tight, with interwoven guitar parts. They showed that rock with a simple line-up could sound fresh again.

Listening

• 
  Last Nite · The Strokes, 2001
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 2001Is This It
• 2003Room on Fire
• 2005First Impressions of Earth
• 2011Angles
• 2013Comedown Machine
• 2020The New Abnormal
• 2026Reality Awaits

Mentioned in other articles

• Garage rock revival GenreThe Strokes of New York released Is This It, and The White Stripes, a duo from Detroit with only guitar and drums, released White Blood Cells.

See also

• Reality Awaits