Future Present Past
Fun, flip, but unfailingly on point, *Future* finds The Strokes as they’ve always been. The New York band’s sound remains a beguiling pastiche of \'70s rock, post-punk, New Wave, and beyond, blended together so smoothly that it’s hard to tell what came from where—from the strange, Bowie-esque disco visions of “Drag Queen” to the comparatively straightforward “Threat of Joy,” which, more than anything, just sounds like the Strokes. But the highlight is “OBLIVIUS,” where singer Julian Casablancas soars into a chorus that seems to stand outside time entirely. Has any title—with its sly suggestion that the future came first and the past is where we’re at now—ever summed up a band better?
On their newest EP, The Strokes continue to perform “The Strokes” for a new generation of younger and casual listeners.
Though the Strokes had been together over 15 years when they released Future Present Past, it still represented a few firsts for the band.
'Future Present Past' by The Strokes, review by Gregory Adams. The EP is now out on Cult Records. The Strokes are streaming tracks from the EP on Youtube.