The Strokes (Wait, who? Is that that band from Sweden who wears red and black?) have been so busy with their individual side-projects lately that the members of NYC’s one-time rock ‘n’ roll saviors (oh yeah, those guys) have probably almost forgotten what it’s like to sit hunched over their instruments in a live room worrying about their image and secretly hating one another. Fortunately for us, they’ll be experiencing that personal hell for our benefit soon enough, as the band has announced that they’ll be heading back into the studio this coming February.
In a recent interview with Spin, Strokes bassist and, umm, Nickel Eye frontman Nikolai Fraiture elaborated on his hopes that the band will find a new sound naturally when they finally reconvene in the studio. "The dynamic will be different and it will seep through," Fraiture said. "Maybe that'll be our producer, maybe it will be different songwriting; it's a little too early to tell. But I think the only way to go forward is to change.” TMT Translation? “I better get to write some of these new Strokes songs, or ELSE...”
Fraiture also revealed that the band had tried to come together for a new album for some time, only to have their personal lives (read: side projects, pregnant girlfriends, etc.) get in the way. "Everyone in the band is eager to get back... we've been trying for the last two years, on and off. But people need to do what they need to do. That's how all of the side-projects came about — wanting to continue to play music."
Oh, and speaking of those now comically-numerous side-projects, Fraiture’s aforementioned Nickel Eye project is scheduled to release its debut, Time of the Assassins, January 27. Though, between you and me, I think that the band would have more yuppie appeal if it were called “Dr. Fraiture Crane,” don’t you?
