The Strokes in Amsterdam

About The Strokes

Few bands hit as hard out of the gate as The Strokes did with their 2001 debut Is This It, a record that became a touchstone for the garage rock and post punk revival of the early 2000s. Featuring Julian Casablancas on vocals, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti, the New York five piece built their sound through relentless gigging on the Lower East Side before a single album had been made. Is This It landed on countless best albums lists and earned a 9.1 from Pitchfork and four stars from Rolling Stone. The follow ups Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth kept the band in good standing, and after a stretch of solo detours and patchy output, they came back strong with The New Abnormal in 2020, produced by Rick Rubin. Critics called it a genuine return to form, and the Grammy for Best Rock Album backed that up. Their most recent studio record, Reality Awaits, arrived in July 2026.