“We just were talking yesterday about when we would get back together and start working on writing for the next album,” Fraiture told Harris, continuing without suspense: “which would be some point soon, I think around April — mid-April.”

That’s right, folks. The Strokes will spend their downtime at Coachella writing some more kickass songs, headline the final night, and then it’s back to the pen and pad. It will go something like that, anyway.

Details stop there, but it should be noted that the record would mark the fifth and final release as part of the band’s current contract with RCA.

The interview is embedded below; Fraiture also discusses his feelings on the Angles recording process, the differences between Angles and the other three, and other Angles-related babble.

So, they’ve had a vacation of sorts. Casablancas, Albert Hammond, Jr., and Nikolai Fraiture put out solo works, all with mixed results, Valensi spent time raising his child and performing next to Sia, while Fabrizio Moretti broke things off with Drew Barrymore (ouch) and worked on Little Joy. It’s been a tender five years since they unbuckled First Impressions of Earth, the polarizing third LP that left fans and critics swinging both ways. Because of this lapse in time, so many folks love to romanticize the idea of the band nearly breaking up, speculating that Casablancas grew tired, or Hammond, Jr. wanted more. It’s not surprising, really, especially since the band spent sessions recording without Casablancas, or vice versa. But, as Fraiture told Spin back in January, “There was a lot of back and forth. I don’t know if Julian had trouble being with us — I don’t know what was going through his mind. There were tensions. But it worked.”

Worked, indeed. Angles, The Strokes’ long awaited fourth LP, stands as the group’s most eclectic album to date. Digressing on the album title, again with Spin, Fraiture insisted, “It’s all about the different approach and the different ways these song came out.” That truth speaks volumes here. If you pegged “Under Cover of Darkness” as the true harbinger for the record, you’re sorely mistaken. It’s maybe one of possibly two tracks that harkens back to the band’s early days. The remainder sees the quintet exploring new sounds and new faces, assembling a pocket full of erratic tunes that sound like The Strokes but in a non-traditional sense. To use an inordinately esoteric (and borderline asinine) example, it’s sort of like the old action figure lines for Batman in the mid-’90s. The figure itself always looked the same, at least in terms of size and specifications, but it came in seven or eight different variations. You know, like Arctic Batman, Midnight Batman, Tarantula Batman, etc., etc.. If you were lucky, you snagged a missile launcher, or a dino buddy, or something to that nature.

No dino buddies here, but the band does change its wardrobe aplenty. At one moment, they’re exploring murky ’80s dance grooves (“Machu Pichu”), only to backpedal seconds later with sunny melodies and popcorn riffage (“Under Cover of Darkness”). In the latter track, arguably the album’s most accessible and traditional moment, Casablancas insists he “won’t just be a puppet on a string.” He sticks to his guns, abandoning the band’s more ancestral sounds, and instead surges forward. But, remarkably, the band sounds most comfortable when they’re exploring uncharted territory.

Some of it isn’t too distant and bizarre. If you took a chance with Casablancas’ incredibly underrated solo effort, 2009′s Phrazes for the Young, portions of material here may sound oddly familiar. “Two Kinds of Happiness” channels that hazy, aerial riffage that made up “Left & Right in the Dark”, while “Games” swims with filters and synthesizers that follow up “11th Dimension”. The difference here, however, is that these songs feel more focused and in tune. They don’t wander as much. Fraiture won’t let them; neither will Moretti. The two rope in the remaining three, keeping things precise and less fragmented. Take latest B-side, “You’re So Right”, for instance. Manic guitar lines segue with toe numbing percussion, while vocals wade in and out of Fraiture’s accelerated bottom lines. It helps that the guy wrote it. Altogether, it’s a frantic, pulsing inclusion, but it wouldn’t work without the solid composure of each member. That’ll silence the skeptics.

Still, you can’t silence them for long, and, admittedly, parts of the album do falter. Having produced this themselves, with the exception of the closing track, which was worked on by producer Joe Chiccarelli (Shins, My Morning Jacket), there are little touches that irritate. At times Casablancas marries himself too closely to the instrumentation (“Taken for a Fool”), while other moments seem spoiled by flooding out the background (“Metabolism”). Time will tell if abandoning longtime producer Gordon Raphael was a good thing, but at the moment, it seems like the band could have used a little tightening. It’s not just them, though. On the aforementioned album closer, “Life is Simple in the Moonlight”, Chiccarelli patches up any holes in sound, rounding out the album with a soiree of Police-like scales, atmospheric chords, soaring synthesizers, bells, etc.. It’s a beautiful collage, but slightly distracting, specifically the verses, where Casablancas happens to exhibit his strongest lyrics. Rest assured, though, the chorus champions on, and while it sounds stripped from Phrazes…, it’s catchy, it’s dance-y, and the layers finally work to its advantage.

As with any Strokes record, the band slows things down, taking some time out for deeper moments of reflection. After all, Casablancas loves to dwell. “Is This It”? “Under Control”? “Ask Me Anything”? All in the same ballpark. Much like its predecessors, “Call Me Back” sees the elusive frontman coming to terms with his present conditions. “I look for you, and you look away,” he observes, moaning along to ghostly harmonies and spider-like guitars that crawl over an array of light noises. For a record stuffed with instrumentation, this sparse melody feels delectably rich and grounded. The bitter frontman entertains us with some humor, too, when he remarks, “Wait time is the worst/I can hardly sit/No one has the time/It’s why I’m always late.” That must be tongue-in-cheek, right? Maybe. Well, probably since he follows this up with “Gratisfaction”, a hip swinging jamboree that sees the band applauding themselves – literally.

Recently, Valensi told NME, “If we had just released [Angles] a year or two after the last one, I imagine it would have gone better.” Not sure that’s true. So many critics winced at the twists and turns of First Impressions of Earth, and yet that featured more traditional sounding tunes than here. It’s very likely they would have seethed from the mouth at the nature of this beast. While they do “return to form” on a couple tracks here, it’s quite the departure in sound from their last effort. But, we’re more open to the changes today. Not to mention, the band’s laid it out for us. They’ve insisted upon the album’s differing perspectives again and again. Because of this, Angles stays true to its name. It’s a multidimensional record that picks and pulls from various folders. Sure, it could benefit from some cohesion, but given the boys’ state of mind, it would be unfair to expect that from them. Instead, it’s a sultry exhibition, one that spotlights the band’s strengths, yet also its weaknesses. There’s something remarkably intimate about that. Exciting, too.

Before the proverbial curtain drops on “Life is Simple in the Moonlight”, Casablancas warns, “Don’t try to stop us, get out of the way.” If we’re to take Angles into consideration, it’s highly unlikely we’ll stand our ground. At this time, we’re more than willing to step aside and let them do their thing. Hell, it’s that redemptive freedom that brought them back to the fold in the first place – and with headlining slots and smiles to boot. All we ask, however, is this time, please don’t leave us waiting in the dust for five more years. Deal?

Feature artwork by Cap Blackard.

Our first stop is in back in the year 2002. The Strokes’ debut album Is This It had been released six months prior to this video. The album was making huge waves in the music scene, and was inspiring young, impressionable teens (of which I was certainly one) to grow out their hair, quit showering so much, and start buying all their clothes at the Goodwill. Julian Casablancas was at this point in his life a stay-drunk, the pyrotechnics were about as far away as you could get from a 2010 Muse show, and the sound was as raw as ever. And that is why we loved The Strokes then, and why we continue to love them now. They were a bit of a Cinderella story (minus one Hillary Duff and one Chad Michael Murray), and they came from a place that we could all relate to. So, without further ado, taken from a live showcase in LA on February 2, 2002, here are The Strokes performing the title track “Is This It”:

Hope that one brought back the painful, yet beautiful memories of adolescence. I think my acne came back from the sheer memory of what that song meant to me as a teenager. Next stop, 2004. The Strokes highly anticipated follow-up to Is This It was released in October of 2003. The success of their previous effort and ensuing tour led to the quick release of another album that sounded cleaner than its raw predecessor, but had all the same charm. You’ll notice the boys themselves haven’t changed too much, still sporting the mangy look and swagger that seems to come so natural to them, but some growing up has occurred. Casablancas began to fight the battle to sobriety at around this point and was having mixed results. He married assistant band manager Juliet Joslin just months after this video and was well on the track to becoming a responsible adult. Drummer Fabrizio Moretti began a high profile relationship with actress Drew Barrymore at this time which widened the audience of Strokes listeners. The youthful nonchalance was still prevalent, but visibly receding. This album was received as well as its predecessor, largely due to its very similar sound. It’s first single was the song “12:51” which we are about to witness. From the month of February in 2004, once again The Strokes playing “12:51”:

Our last stop, a jump forward to the year 2006. The Strokes made a major change in style. They released First Impressions of Earth in January of that year. It was the least well-received of their three albums by fans and critics alike. Their sound is bigger, stronger, and possibly a little too clean for its audience. The Strokes were founded on being fantastically unrefined, and that’s what the fans and critics wanted and expected, but not so much what they received. The vocals were cleaner, the guitar solos were more intricate, the drum work was heavier, and the bass was too energetic. I myself am a fan of the album, but trying very hard to speak from a non-biased standpoint, this was not their strongest, nor their most authentic effort. You’ll notice upon seeing them live that the pyrotechnics have accompanied this newer, bigger sound and that they’ve all cleaned up a bit; especially Albert Hammond, Jr. and the white suit that became his trademark. The boys were all really starting to grow up. Nick Valensi would marry his girlfriend of five years and have twins with her later on that year, Moretti would break it off with Drew Barrymore, and The Strokes would go on a very lengthy hiatus after this tour. You’ll also notice in this video that the sound is more calculated, the band is less energetic, and that childhood charm is very near gone. Still, they remain great. Finally, The Strokes performing “You Only Live Once” live at Eurockéennes Festival in France on one Friday in June:

Hope that trip down memory lane was filled with fond memories. Each member, with the exception of guitarist Nick Valensi, have released at least one solo album to varying degrees of success. They haven’t put anything out as a band since 2006, leaving us superfans in the dark for over four years. The news from The Strokes front is pretty constant and pretty downer these days, but I still have hope. They have been scheduled to appear at the following festivals (we’ll give you the scoop since we’re festival headquarters, USA): Isle of Wight, RockNess, Hurricane, Southside, OpenAir St. Gallen, and American festival Lollapalooza. The band has been working separately on the album, Julian on his own, the remaining four on their own. While the album was originally slated for a September 2010 release, it appears as though it has been pushed back to January of 2011, leaving the world thirsty for yet another year. In closing, don’t let this dark last paragraph full of sad news kill the high you got by watching these videos. It was meant to act as a reminder to what incredible icons The Strokes are, and to instill hope in the unbelievers. The Strokes will remain in our hearts forever, no matter what road they choose to travel.

As TwentyFourBit points out, “the guys” in L.A. could be the same guys in The Strokes, “Ryan” might be the band’s manager, Ryan Gentles, and “recording” could be that action those guys in that band have longed talked about. Then again, as we’ve learned already, talking doesn’t equal results.