Is this Schlitz?
[Video][Website]
[4.83]
Alfred Soto: With the rhythm guitars still ching-ching-chinging, Albert Hammond Jr. still learning Elliot Easton riffs, and Julian confusing a slur with a melody, the title is prayer and lament: had they livers enough and time this terrific minor band would have kept reminding us how and why their cultural moment vanished even when their songs aren’t terrible.
[5]
Brad Shoup: Ha! That classic Strokes dénouement: Julian drops a recurring phrase to the ground while the band hits the brakes. The tune screams farewell, but the lyrics are standard fast-life fare, only delivered with a formalist’s attention to melodic development. With everyone who flipped in ’01 having downgraded the debut to small stakes, it’s bittersweet to hear the band at last agree. But this is still one hell of a single. Crackerjack AOR solo, Moretti’s deft tomwork, and organ to make Tom Petty jealous. Will listen until nausea.
[8]
Anthony Easton: Well the retro-fetishism has moved ahead by a decade or so, and they seem slightly more competent in playing their instruments. Does that mean progress?
[4]
Crystal Leww: No, we’re not “livin’ too fast”. You’re just still stuck in 2001.
[3]
Jonathan Bogart: The further away we get from 2001, the more the long arc of their career bends towards Weezer.
[4]
Patrick St. Michel: Despite the constant singing about “livin’ it up,” this sounds like The Strokes settling into midlife, deciding they might as well be as Strokesy as possible for as long as they can milk it. That’s not a bad decision — the album’s a total mess, it would be tolerable if they phoned it in like this more — but “All the Time” makes the case that The Strokes have turned into a group the world shouldn’t expect exciting music from, just songs that warrant a new tour and t-shirt. You could also just play “Hard To Explain” again for a better experience.
[5]