When The Strokes released the EP The Modern Age in January 2001 on Rough Trade, the band was already being hailed as the savior of rock for the new decade. And interest in the group came from all sides: the public, the press, and record labels.
The New York band was formed in 1999 by Julian Casablancas (vocals), Nikolai Fraiture (bass), Nick Valensi (guitar), Albert Hammond, Jr. (guitar), and Fabrízio Moretti (drums), a Brazilian who moved to the U.S. at the age of four. Julian Casablancas’s voice sometimes resembles Lou Reed’s, other times Iggy Pop’s. The Stooges and the Velvet Underground are among the influences on the band’s music.
In 2001, the British record label Rough Trade released the group’s first EP. The Modern Age brought The Strokes into the pages of publications such as Rolling Stone, The Face, and New Musical Express (NME), heightening anticipation surrounding the band, which signed a contract with RCA Records.
The band’s debut album, Is This It (2001), is a landmark of early 2000s garage rock. The track “New York City Cops” was omitted from the U.S. version of the album due to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In its place, the song “When It Started” was added.
In 2002, The Strokes embarked on an extensive tour, also performing at festivals such as Reading and Leeds. Later that year, the group debuted several new songs, including “Meet Me in the Bathroom,” “You Talk Way Too Much,” and “The Way It Is.”
In March 2003, the band began working on a new album with producer Nigel Godrich. However, Godrich did not stay on until the end of the recording sessions, and it was Gordon Raphael (producer of Is This It) who completed the production of Room on Fire, the band’s second album, released in October 2003. Prior to that release, the band embarked on a tour with Kings of Leon.
The Strokes’ third album, titled First Impressions of Earth, was released in 2006. After the tour for that album, the band members turned their attention to other projects. Albert Hammond, Jr. released his first solo album, Yours to Keep, in 2006, and his second, Como Te Llama?, in 2008. Fabrizio Moretti went on to play with the indie pop band Little Joy, which released a self-titled album in 2008. Nikolai Fraiture released the album Time of the Assassins in 2009 with his project Nickel Eye. Also in 2009, Julian Casablancas released his first solo album, Phrazes for the Young.
The band returned with a new album, Angles, in March 2011. The band’s fifth studio album, titled Comedown Machine, was released in March 2013. Seven years later, the group returned with a new full-length album titled The New Abnormal.
After a six-year hiatus, the band released Reality Awaits in 2026.
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