The Strokes are an American rock band that most people are familiar with, but after their groundbreaking debut in 2001 called “Is This It”, it has been tough for them to top the music that they had initially released. Of course since their debut the band has written and released a ton of music, but nothing could truly compete with the first release. However, in 2016, after not releasing music for three years and hardly performing, the band released as three-song EP called “Future Present Past”.
Each song in the album mirrors a word in the title “Future Present Past”. “Drag Queen” refers to future, “OBLIVIUS” refers to the present, and “Threat of Joy” refers to the past. The first track, “Drag Queen” is a very upbeat, yet dissonantly melodic song. Near the end of the song, there’s a very intense and raw breakdown that’s more intellectual than it is musical. The second track “OBLIVIUS” is a more emotional song, but still maintains the integrity of the traditional “Strokes” sound. This song has the most intense vocal melodies, but it’s overall a groovy song. The last song, “Threat of Joy” is the most similar sounding to what we know The Strokes as. The song is extremely catchy, the drums emulate that of a drum machine, and the guitar melodies are sweet and rhythmic. Overall, the EP still reminds listeners of the classic sound that The Strokes became renowned on. However, it’s quite obvious that it’s extremely hard to top “Is This It”, even though it came out over 15 years ago.
Critically speaking, the album was received pretty well overall. It holds a score of 75/100 on Metacritic based on six reviews. Fans of The Strokes debate whether this sounds like them or not, but in the end, they have accomplished the most important task in creating art which is simply to make good art. The music on the album is solid, the melodies are catchy, and the authenticity of The Strokes can definitely be felt and heard.
