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The Strokes

They saved Indie!

The first thing you notice is that The Strokes look different. Five years ago their colourful T-shirts, pastel sports jackets and white belts made them the perfect poster boys for a generation of young bands. The look was just as much a factor in their success as their breathtaking debut, ‘Is This It?’. Now the sartorial tone is sombre. Black is in. Singer Julian Casablancas has re-grown his hair and is well on his way to achieving a stoner rock mop. Guitarist Nick Valensi has gone several inches better and wears a black waistcoat in an ensemble suggestive of ’70s metal. Then there’s drummer Fabrizio Moretti’s leather jacket and biker moustache and guitarist Albert Hammond Jnr’s surly demeanour. In the past bassist Nikolai Fraiture was the odd-man-out because of his semi-gothic appearance, but he finally seems to belong. The Strokes look heavier.