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Here\u2019s a band that can make The Strokes seem, once and for all, obsolete\u2014which is saying something considering The Strokes were lauded as \u201cvital\u201d and \u201cindispensable\u201d back in their day. Consider Skaters<\/strong><\/a> the new \u201cvital\u201d rock band; in fact, there\u2019s a lot of comparisons to be made between the two bands: The Strokes rode a wave of hype into the music scene; Skaters are now doing the same. The Strokes debuted with a critically hailed album featuring 11 solid tracks; Skaters are now doing the same. You get the point.<\/p>\n

And the similarities don\u2019t stop there. All the elements that made Is This It <\/i>such a strong rock album are prevalent on Skaters\u2019 debut full-length, Manhattan<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, due out Feb. 25th on Warner Bros. Records. Manhattan<\/i> opens up with the dark-sounding \u201cOne Of Us,\u201d a super straightforward rock song that builds around the repeating line \u201cFun and games.\u201d But there\u2019s no fuss or messing around on this album: you come to find that each minute of each of the Skaters\u2019 11 tracks is worthwhile. They are not wasting any time here. The album\u2019s third track and lead single \u201cDeadbolt\u201d is a prowling, thumping number that breaks open during the chorus, when lead singer Michael Ian Cummings howls \u201cWon\u2019t you give me one more try?\u201d in as close to a Julian Casablancas impression as anyone could get.<\/p>\n

Much of the midsection of the record features much more optimistic sounding, effortlessly catchy tunes like \u2018To Be Young\u201d and \u201cSymptomatic,\u201d which feature fast-paced, driving rhythms by guitarist Josh Hubbard and drummer Noah Rubin that make you want to get up and dance. \u201cSchemers\u201d is particularly pop-tinged and one of the album\u2019s major stand-outs, with the same kind of anthemic magic that The Strokes managed on Is This It\u2019s <\/i>\u201cLast Nite.\u201d<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s where the two bands differ, and what keeps things truly interesting on Manhattan<\/i>: Skaters confidently and deftly incorporate a variety of influences to bring some unexpected songs to the table, beginning with \u201cBand Breaker.\u201d Anchored by bassist Dan Burke, the song is colored with a reggae sound that brings The Specials to mind\u2014a sort of unpolished, gritty aesthetic that simultaneously has a modern sheen to it. \u201cFear of the Knife,\u201d one of the album’s most dynamic songs, continues in a similar, reggae-influenced tone and features a listless Cummings singing morbid lyrics about an operation and doctors who \u201cget paid when you\u2019re six feet underground.\u201d \u201cNice Hat,\u201d on the other hand, punches up the punk, drawing from the hard-and-fast style of hardcore bands like Black Flag and Fear. And with snippets of the city’s sounds\u2014overheard drivel, drunken conversations with taxi drivers, announcements in the subway\u2014sprinkled in between songs, the record plays like a genuine homage to quotidian New York City.<\/p>\n

The album closes with as much primal energy as its opening\u2014the fuzzed out electric guitar still shredding, the drums still thrashing, and the bass still throbbing. Skaters are, through and through, a rock band, but with a lot more to offer than power chords and great melodies.\u00a0Manhattan <\/i>is familiar yet novel, packed with material that\u2019s strong enough to carry Skaters from the basement to the Bowery Ballroom and beyond. Catch \u2018em while you can.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a band that can make The Strokes seem, once and for all, obsolete\u2014which is saying something considering The Strokes were lauded as \u201cvital\u201d and \u201cindispensable\u201d back in their day. Consider Skaters the new \u201cvital\u201d rock band; in fact, there\u2019s a lot of comparisons to be made between the two bands: The Strokes rode a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":6273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206,638,202],"tags":[42,1105,909,1195],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/manhattan-cover-art-extralarge_1387305952499__70250_zoom.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6272"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48651,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272\/revisions\/48651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}