The Strokes Release New Single

Today The Strokes released "Under Cover Of Darkness," their first single in almost five years. The song is currently available on the band's new website though the server promptly crashed upon the moment of the song's release and has been finicky all day.

The tune is almost a Burroughsian cut-up of their previous singles and shows the evolution of the band to interesting effect. The start is immediately peppered with "Someday"-brand whimsy, a spy-film guitar a la "Juicebox" makes a cameo. "Under Cover Of Darkness" effortlessly weaves together the full lineage of Strokes touchstones without sounding like a tired retreading of the past.

As a band whose members have proved themselves as talented solo artists in their own right, The Strokes do well to keep the song from overflowing with ideas. The most noticeable additions to their are the backup vocals which serve as a subtle complement to the expanded vocal range that Julian Casablancas has fully settled into. They hit high notes in the chorus that would've been unthinkable for The Strokes circa 2001.

"Under Cover Of Darkness" will be available as a free download for 48 hours. The album, 'Angles,' will be released March 22.

The Strokes - Under Cover Of Darkness by thebluewalrus

Comments

[amandadissinger]

10:45 AM on 03/15/2011

Love the Strokes. Can't wait for their album to come out 3/22. Love "you're so right" and "Under the cover of darkness."

[momopopo]

11:58 PM on 02/11/2011

lame. uninspired. boring. tired. been done.

[ipv4]

09:46 PM on 02/10/2011

It sounds much better after hearing it a few times.

[Max Shaw]

12:37 PM on 02/10/2011

Bout time...but I'll wait for the main course before I judge the meal beased on this appetizer.

[ginger-kid]

02:23 AM on 02/10/2011

I hope the rest of the album is better than this. I love The Strokes, but I'm not digging this song...

[boomcat44]

02:16 AM on 02/10/2011

Guess it's an acquired taste.........

[CPAwADD]

01:39 AM on 02/10/2011

Do The Strokes just perform with one side of their body because of their hemiplegia. I probably post after a 15 hour day.

[emilyanne]

10:35 PM on 02/09/2011

Disappointing, but I'll give the rest of the album a chance.

[Strattastic]

12:43 AM on 02/10/2011

Never once has the song they release as the first single been a top 5 favorite on the album for me, so I'm still hopeful.

[Betho42]

10:31 PM on 02/09/2011

Love the music, but having a hard time hearing the lyrics. Is it my lousy little computer speakers, or the song ? Anybody ?

[jrb35]

10:12 PM on 02/09/2011

I saw them at the Greek in LA a number of years ago and have to say I was very disappointed. I absolutely loved their debut album and liked the follow up a lot too. They were very tight performers live but they sounded exactly like their album. I literally could have played their CD simultaneously and it would have sounded the same. Not a single change or improvisation. No experimentation or creativity. I get it that they're not a jam band per se, but when a group doesn't go anywhere with their music while performing live it always strikes me as a bit lazy or at the very least uninspired. I could have stayed home and played their album and the saved the price of the ticket.

[ipv4]

07:34 PM on 02/10/2011

Most people pay to hear the music like it's played on the record. That's what brought them there in the first place. I hate when groups butchers their songs improvisations.

[BlindChance]

10:08 PM on 02/09/2011

Love The Strokes, but this one will have to grow on me. Can't wait to hear the rest of the album.

[stevemcc]

09:37 PM on 02/09/2011

First!......finally

[BlindChance]

10:07 PM on 02/09/2011

Well, with AOL attaching itself to HP I suppose we can expect juvenile posts like this from now on.

[chrispychilla28]

12:26 AM on 02/10/2011

stevemcc has been cometing on Huffpost articles as a member since 2005. Fishing for a reason to dislike the merger I see.