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Avg: 4.0 (114 ratings)
- Date Released: May 22, 2001
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: XL Recordings
Hear why the hype began…
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We Say...
Their very first recording, The Modern Age EP is the Strokes in utero, before the expectations that would soon be heaped upon them, cocky in a sweetly naïve way. "Last Night" would become their first hit, and here it's skeletal and alive, sounding like some nebulous, punked-up combination of skiffle and Dixieland (not in terms of sound, but approach — the way the rapid guitar downstrokes and bouncy rhythm banter with one another). "Barely Legal" is cool, calm and collected, singer Julian Casablanacas' voice sporting a sneer like his boy Mick Jagger once had. The title track is exhilarating — Nick Valensi's guitar comes in with a staccato counterpoint, snapping the song into three dimensions; Fab Moretti's drums slap like hands on a tabletop, switching from regular- to double-time seemingly on a whim; and that chorus, restrained but explosive, offering complete and cathartic release. If only they really had been rock & roll's future.
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They Say...
Initially released on the U.K. Rough Trade label in early 2001 (and later on the U.S. Beggar's Banquet imprint), the Strokes' seemingly innocuous three-song Modern Age EP turned out to be one of the more important releases of the early 2000s. Aside from being the opening salvo that introduced the Strokes to a largely unsuspecting world, The Modern Age sparked a renewed interest in other like-minded garage revivalists such as the White Stripes and the Hives, and also managed to fuel a Seattle-esque record label feeding frenzy in the emerging New York scene. Through the spring and summer of 2001, the Strokes and their EP amassed an immense amount of buzz (particularly in the U.K. press), which lofted the anticipation for the group's full-length debut album, Is This It?, into the stratosphere. Now, looking back at The Modern Age EP, it might not be readily apparent what all the fuss was about -- even a cursory listen reveals all three tunes to be in considerably cruder form here than the versions that would later appear on Is This It?. However, this rough-around-the-edges sound was precisely what appealed to many tired rock listeners who were searching for something fresh amid the slick pop groups and faux-grunge revivalists that pervaded the musical landscape of 2001. Those already familiar with Is This It? will notice many small differences in the three songs that appear on the EP -- all contain slightly different lyrics from the album versions, while the tempos also differ from track to track ("The Modern Age" flies by at a considerably speedier clip, while conversely, "Barely Legal" plods along at a much slower pace). "Barely Legal" is perhaps the most structurally different of the three songs, with a guitar solo added to the composition and a chromatically descending bass figure leading into each chorus. On the other hand, "Last Nite" still sounds like a ready-made single here, and is very close to the version that appears on the full-length. Even given the fact that these three songs can be found on both releases, this EP still merits considerable interest as both a historical piece and an insight into the evolution of singer Julian Casablancas' songwriting.
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Credits
- The Strokes - Main Performer // Fabrizio Moretti - Drums // Fabrizio Moretti - Group Member // Nikolai Fraiture - Bass // Nikolai Fraiture - Group Member // Albert Hammond, Jr. - Guitar // Albert Hammond, Jr. - Group Member // Julian Casablancas - Vocals // Julian Casablancas - Group Member // Nick Valensi - Guitar // Nick Valensi - Group Member
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