Alright, most people who belong to the radio and are into the mainstream and MTV probably haven’t heard of The Strokes, but that’s cool because they wouldn’t care any other way. Even Julian Casablancas, singer/songwriter of the band said that the objective of Is This It, their first record, "was to be really cool and non-mainstream, and be really popular." Of course, the album was a classic, and somehow the Strokes got exactly what they wanted. They hardly ever were played on MTV, yet VH1 and Fuse couldn’t help playing their music in the background of their shows. Their music had references to older bands like The Cars and The Velvet Underground, yet it was fresh and inventive, not to mention a sweet break from all the rigmarole we get every day from modern music. So yeah, they got the best of both worlds.

Their next record, Room on Fire, was good, although many critics and fans thought that it sounded too much like Is This It, calling it “over-hyped” and “repetitive”, sometimes a critic just dismissed the album just because the band sounded like themselves. What was strange to me was why people thought that sounding similar was a bad quality. All the songs on Room on Fire had different melodies from the ones on Is This It, the guitars sounded stellar as usual, and the band as a whole matured and improved as musicians.

Now here we are, in 2006 with album number three, fittingly titled First Impressions of Earth. Already that’s exactly how people on earth are judging it, by the first listen. See how well it flows? The album cover is great too, an array of opaque gray figures on either side, indicating “heaven”, amid to a diagonal red line playing the part of “earth”.

But great bands like The Strokes have most people only focusing on one thing: the music. Tasteful as they are, The Strokes’ decided on trying new things…Rather than the usual “b-sides from the future” shtick they had on their first two records that got me and other rock and roll freaks to love them in the first place, they experimented a bit with their first and latest single, “Juicebox”. The song is insane beyond expression. Just imagine tossing the batman theme, Kurt Cobain, and a trampoline into a blender. This is the song you would get. Just be surprised that it wasn’t on the King Kong soundtrack. Yeah, I could see a giant ape crushing a building to that song.

Anyway, the rest of the album sounds great too. The band sticks to their original formula, giving us quality music, and a great band like the Strokes could never do wrong at that.. So for those who may be disappointed with First Impressions, just remember that great music is like your best friend. It might piss you off once in a while, but when you need it most, it gives you exactly what you want to hear. Can you dig it? Take it or leave it.