Little Joy Replace Strokes Man

Fans of Little Joy will be dismayed to find out that Fabrizio Moretti will not be able to join them for the group's upcoming tour of the United States.

Whatever happened to The Strokes? A succession of side projects have seen nearly every member released new music recently, but the parent group have been inactive since 2005's collection 'First Impressions Of Earth'.

Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr has released two albums of worthy material, while bassist Nikolai Fraiture formed the folk influenced Nickel Eye project who released a well recieved album earlier this year.

Singer Julian Casablancas meanwhile was one third of a stunning collaboration with Pharrell Williams and Santigold, recording a track for sneaker firm Nike last year.

However it was The Strokes' Fabrizio Moretti who may have crafted the best album to date. Little Joy's scratchy indie was deeply indebted to post punk groups such as Swell Maps, but the band had their own distinct sound.

The group appear to be one of the longest lasting Strokes' side projects, with a string of headline shows planned. In addition to this, the band will also open for Regina Spektor at a number of shows, including a New York date on June 17th.

Regina Spektor is an old friend of The Strokes. As well as appearing on 'First Impressions Of Earth' the singer was a guest on the debut album by Nikolai Fraiture's side project 'Nickel Eye'.

However Fabrizio Moretti will not be joining them. The Strokes began rehearsing together again earlier this year, and plan to spend the summer writing new material for the group's forthcoming album.

Progress is apparently slow, with insiders to the band warning it could take them until 2010 to release new material.

Instead, Little Joy have recruited Jack Dishel from American indie rockers Only Son to replace Moretti on guitars and backing vocals.

Little Joy's United States tour opens in Santa Barbara on June 2nd.