Sometimes you really want to like an album and you just can’t. I hate being the person that wants a band to just sound like they used to; but sometimes you just can’t help it. After slowly losing interest in The Strokes over the last decade I wanted to really be excited about them again. so I pre-ordered Comedown Machine (something I didn’t do for Angels) and anxiously awaited it’s arrival.

The slab of vinyl that arrived at my doorstep would ultimately disappoint. The group fades even more into electronic territory and seems to be right on par with the crap music dominating radio right now. Comedown Machine sounds like it is standing on the same ground as a new record by fun. or Phoenix. The heavy synth of songs like “One Way Trigger” make me wish it was easier to skip songs on my record player. These same songs make you wonder how this is the same band that wrote “Barely Legal” back in the early 2000s.

There are glimpses of the band that used to be on tracks like “50/50” and “All The Time” but it just isn’t enough to make up for songs like “Tap Out” and “Call It Fate, Call It Karma.” The Strokes fifth album finds them straying even further from the group that everyone fell in love with back in 2002. Julian Casablancas’ vocals are getting higher and sound like he is trying to create dance hits while Albert Hammond Jr.’s guitar is pushed out of the spotlight making for a less than thrilling album.

Key Tracks: “50/50”