BEST NEW SONGS: THE STROKES - OBLIVIUS

THE STROKES ARE BACK! YAY! And before you come at me with the “I’d be a lot more happy if this was 2003” comments, think back to how stoked you were on Is This It? and Room On Fire and just be impressed and happy that The Strokes are still releasing new material and are still a band in 2016. I’ll admit I was a little nervous to see when or if we’d even hear from them as a band again after hearing rumors of ill-feelings between band members and the fact that they never toured to support their last album (besides a few festival gigs here and there). But now we have “OBLIVIUS” which is off of their brand new EP, Future, Present, Past! It’s their first release since 2013’s Come Down Machine…which actually had a lot of solid tracks and should have received more attention. (Don’t remember? Go listen to it now!) So read on to hear why we were so pleased to hear their latest track, “OBLIVIUS” (and yes, that is the correct spelling).

THE STROKES - OBLIVIUS

The track kicks in right away with signature Strokes-sounding guitar, memorable bass lines, and drummer Fab Moretti’s almost drum machine-like beat. Once the chorus hits shortly after the 1:00 mark, you can’t help but feel like this would belong perfectly on Come Down Machine (more specifically, “One Way Trigger”) with Julian’s frantic vocals. Just after the 3:10 mark, a retro-futuristic guitar solo comes in along with booming bass lines, Fab’s skittering beat, and Julian’s raw falsetto that builds back into the track’s chorus. Although this song is definitely one of their longer songs (4:59 min), it still has that charm that we all fell in love with, yet doesn’t feel stale.

Future, Present, Past is out now on Casablancas’ label, Cult Records.

About Erin Crider

Erin Crider eats, breathes, and sleeps pop culture. If you have a question about a one-hit wonder from the ‘90s or need help remembering lines from a SNL skit, she’s your girl. When she isn’t lurking the internet, she's either going to a show or hanging out at Disneyland. Erin lives in Southern California and has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Cal State Long Beach.