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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Room On Fire
by The Strokes


8.2

based on 30 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 117 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

MUSIC:

Albert Hammond, Jr.: Yours To Keep

Official Artist Site

This eagerly-awaited second LP for the heralded/hyped New York five-piece was produced by Gordon Raphael (who also produced their debut 'Is This It?') after aborted sessions working with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.

LABEL:	RCA
RELEASE DATE:	28 October 2003
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock, Alternative

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Q Magazine

Pretty much everything a second album needs to be, it's like Is This It but more emotional, more colourful, slightly better. [Nov 2003, p.102]

Spin

Room's similarity to its predecessor ultimately bespeaks a purity of vision, not a dearth of new ideas. [Dec 2003, p.121]

Drowned In Sound

An adrenaline-fueled head-rush of precision-perfect pop tunes about modern life.

Alternative Press

Better than its predecessor. [Dec 2003, p.150]

Nude As The News

The album is arguably better than the group's much-heralded debut, if by "better" we just mean more sonically impressive overall.

New Musical Express

‘Room On Fire’ is a refining and tinkering with The Strokes sound, a carefully calibrated attempt not to fuck up too early in the face of untold temptations. The results are still sleek, sexy and thrilling, with a tantalising promise of even better to come.

Neumu.net

The Strokes don't make the most original sounding music you've ever heard, but they make something that is only The Strokes.

PopMatters

There's so much more musical depth on Room on Fire, that it makes most of the band's earlier songs sound stale in comparison.

Junkmedia

Room on Fire is a passionate, 32-minute burning effigy of the seemingly insurmountable expectations fans and critics had for the record.

Filter

It literally sounds like the Strokes, but it lacks heart. Which means it replicates the first album in form, but not substance. [#8, p.100]

All Music Guide

This compressed feel, the precision of the band's playing and arrangements, and the way every song comes to an abrupt stop sometimes make the album sound too closed-off.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

On Room On Fire, the band has the good sense to do what it does best and leave listeners wanting more.

Pitchfork

That there's nothing new or innovative to be found here is sure to be a common complaint, though only those who prize evolution over knowing one's strengths will cry fraud.

Rolling Stone

In the face of hysterical expectation, the Strokes have resisted the temptation to hit the brakes, grow up and screw around with a sound that doesn't need fixing -- yet.

Uncut

[Casablancas'] remarkable performance enlivens even the album's most underwhelming passages. [Nov 2003, p.108]

Dot Music

Frankly, this is it all over again.

Village Voice

Great, better even than the last.

ShakingThrough.net

Room on Fire is the sound of a tighter, more focused band.

Entertainment Weekly

Anyone who invested anything in Is This It is destined to walk away from Room On Fire a little disappointed. [31 Oct 2003, p.71]

Stylus Magazine

Review 1: This is what they do- they don’t ape other bands. They ape pop music. And they do it better than any other band right now. [score=80]; Review 2: 33 minutes and 34 seconds of the SAME album! [score=65]

Mojo

The Strokes come across as a world-sized band that's tethering itself.... Nonetheless, this record is good. [Nov 2003, p.124]

Dusted Magazine

It’s a better album than Is This It, but then again, so were a dozen other rock records that year.

E! Online

Sounds like it was recorded in a tin can and constructed from leftovers off the group's debut.

Trouser Press

There's nothing about the quintet's second album that audibly acknowledges the impact of its debut.

Magnet

There's something undeniably mechanical about Room On Fire. [#61, p.107]

The Guardian

A roaring opener, a trio of great potential singles and a remarkable slow number successfully divert attention from the fact that half of Room on Fire is uninspired filler.

Blender

The fine distinction between cool and blase, aloof and distant, seems to have eluded them. [Nov 2003, p.106]

New York Magazine

The central flaw of Room on Fire is the lack of hooks.

Austin Chronicle

Even the half-hearted retreads ("You Talk Way Too Much," "Between Love & Hate") cashing in on the notoriously unwashed NYC quintet's debut can't muster a wink.

Playlouder

There's little of the pop sparkle that shone through the likes of 'The Modern Age' and 'Last Nite' even when - as with 'You Talk Way Too Much' - they're rewriting old material, and Julian's vocals are, to be blunt, awful, sounding uncomfortable to record and rather complacently nasal.

The average user rating for this album is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 117 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Giacomo P gave it a10:
another great album.Amazing!

Elliot M gave it a9:
The nigh on perfect indie-rock sound of Is This It returns, only now with a little more feeling. Tracks such as 12:51 and Under Control touch nerves that their debut, for all its brilliance, never could have. Lyrically it's still not as good as it could be, but musically it remains as tight and tuneful as ever. Quite brilliant stuff.

sam F gave it a9:
I don't understand people that say that this album is the same as Is This It? Songs like 12:51, Under Control, and The end has no end (all of which are possibly my favorite strokes songs) would have sounded terribly out of place on Is This It? But although this cd has most of my favorite strokes songs, it is not as solid throughout as Is This It? was...But falling a little short of Is This It? is by no means a failure.

bryan l gave it a9:
this is definitely my favourite album.. my absolute favourite band

Music Fan gave it a10:
one of my favorite albums flawless and and a joy to listen to I love it

Anna W gave it a10:
The Strokes are immensely enjoyable. And I am sick of hearing people complain about their parents having money. Would they be listened to more if their parents were poor? This Album was amazing. I loved Reptilia. Listen to the entire album before saying it is a copy of the first. ugh.

Mack B gave it a2:
Say it ain't so. I really loved 'Is This It?' - but I certainly didn't consider them the saviors of rock 'n roll. Anyone with an ounce of music knowledge knows that their sound is decidedly NOT unique. But that was okay for their debut - it was 1 track on repeat 11 times, but that one track was extremely catchy and easy to enjoy. It wasn't challenging or original, but it didn't need to be, it was just insanely enjoyable. After the initial thrill of the song(s) wore off, however, I was left with the terrible feeling that this band shouldn't record another record - because it was obvious that they were a one-trick pony. Or is it Phony? I must say, I listened to 'Is This It?' before I read about the hype, or the faux lifestyle represented by the members...and those two elements certainly helped ruin the fun for me. It might as well be me "singing" (Julian isn't really singing) these ditties about seedy, trashy NY life. That would be just as genuine. So what's wrong with 'Room on Fire'? Well, it took these faux musicians 2 years to release the SAME ALBUM. Had this been a debut, 2 years ago, then it would make a fine replacement for 'Is This It?'. As a second album, it fails to achieve even sophomore slump status. This is worse - it's a note for note, verbatim copy. And all this took 2 years plus a scrapped session with Nigel Godrich? I could have made 'Room On Fire' the day after I heard their debut. They could have made a lasting impression on pop-rock had they just stopped with one album. Just how long can they keep up the facade that they're actually musicians anyway? What's worse is that there are legions of mindless souls out there willing to gobble up this unimaginative rehash - and then say that it is the "best thing ever". The Strokes should have just toured for life from their first album - at least then the facade would still be intact.

Room On Fire by The Strokes

Room On Fire
by The Strokes