Room On Fire

Rolling Stone (12/25/03, p.110) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2003" Rolling Stone (10/30/03, p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[One] of the best things about ROOM ON FIRE is that...the Strokes have resisted the temptation to hit the brakes, grow up and screw around with a sound that doesn't need fixing....This record was built for thrills and speed." Spin (12/03, pp.121-2) - "...The gambit pays off: ROOM ON FIRE is the rare album you could imagine rocking college radio and storming Clear Channel's barricades..." - Grade: A- Entertainment Weekly (10/31/03, pp.71-72) - "...There's still something undeniably appealing about the Strokes. They're raw and corrosive, yet surprisingly intimate..." - Rating: B Q (01/01/04, p.83) - Ranked #7 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums of 2003" Q (11/03, p.102) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...Everything a second album needs to be, it's like IS THIS IT but more emotional, more colourful, slightly better..." Uncut (01/04, pp.84-7) - Ranked #45 in Uncut's "Albums Of The Year 2003" Uncut (11/03, p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Once again 11 concise, usually thrilling songs filled with bewilderment, romance and a sense of climactic payback..." CMJ (11/17/03, p.8) - "...[Repaints] its predecessor as a promising first release, with potential to grow into something truly formidable....[the opening track] is arguably the Strokes' finest moment to date..." Mojo (Publisher) (01/01/04, p.60) - Ranked #4 in Mojo's "The Best of 2003" Mojo (Publisher) (11/03, p.124) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This record is good. Thirty-three minutes and 13 seconds of bruised pop music. Tough, intense, no slack..."

彼らは鳴らすべき音がわかっていた。研ぎ澄ませた演奏と楽曲があれば、何度でもロックに命を吹き込み、大勢の感性を揺さぶり得ることを確信していた。傑出したロックがすべて過去のものとなりつつあることに、強烈な〈否〉を叩きつけたデビュー・アルバム『Is This It』から2年、待望の新作がリリースされた。クラシカルなバンド編成で鳴らす、際立って個性的なリフや音色、クールで獰猛なビートやシャウト、表情豊かなアンサンブル、そんな知性溢れる唯一無二のサウンドは、「前作と同じフィーリングを持ちつつ、前よりも少し進化したもの」というコメントどおりの感触。そして聞こえてくるのは、〈NYパンク云々〉という過去への郷愁を超えた、圧倒的な〈今〉である。今を生きるバンドが今を生きる貴方に向けて、より確かな音を放ち続けようとすること。これ以上の新しさがあるのだろうか?　今、絶対に避けては通れないロックンロール。
bounce (C)木村 優宏