The Strokes

From the moment ‘Heart In A Cage' begins Nick Valensi's guitar slides into thrill mode where it remains throughout. The musical equivalent of a ship rolling in a force nine gale you can almost taste the salt water as the riff rides roughshod through the track. At moments reminiscent of that very whirling Iron Maiden guitar sound, The Strokes pull no punches in what is another fine track from their third album ‘First Impressions Of Earth'. Driving rhythm and a relentless bass are flanked by an on form Casablancas to provide another three minutes of bliss from a band that can do no wrong. When British label Rough Trade signed up these five New Yorkers they surely could not have expected the adulation that was to follow. As on ‘Room On Fire' almost every song is on ‘First Impressions Of Earth' is a potential single, ‘Heart In A Cage' is just the second one.