The Strokes - Under Cover Of Darkness (Single Review)
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Written by Rhys Morgan
Well this single certainly has something to prove. With most The Strokes’ members having followed successful solo projects or secondary bands during this lengthy hiatus, this, the first single in five years really needed to prove there was still a need for The Strokes to exist. Too right there's still a need for The Strokes! With imitators reforming for cash pay-offs *The Libertines* the masters of the spikey indie sound come out of a storm of anticipation and smash it out of the park.
The track has everything a classic Strokes song should have. The aforementioned spikey guitars, the driving high tempo yet simple drums and one of Nikolai’s trademark bass lines. But it’s Julian’s vocals which will be talked about most, they sound ‘clean’, too refined and lacking some of that old charm and it’s not really pushed to the limits that it has been in the past. But saying that, it doesn’t hold the song back in anyway. Unlike 'Juicebox' which came in for some criticism prior to 'First Impressions of Earth' the same won’t be true of 'Under Cover of Darkness', it’s a sure fire hit!
The hooks of the chorus, with its drawn out vocals are trademark. Nobody could have done it better. And of course Albert Hammond Jr has to get in a solo somewhere, it slows the pace for a few seconds before the cymbals explode and bring the track into its close.
It has the cheaper sounding production values of 'Is This It' too, that grainy sound that made the debut so classic. ‘Slip back out of whack at your best’, The Strokes have gone back to basics and back to what made them so good in the first place. They’re still the daddies of this sound and are still here to teach all the young pretenders some serious lessons in how to a tracks full of unique charm and killer pop hooks.
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The hooks of the chorus, with its drawn out vocals are trademark. Nobody could have done it better. And of course Albert Hammond Jr has to get in a solo somewhere, it slows the pace for a few seconds before the cymbals explode and bring the track into its close. 
