Why The Strokes' 'Room on Fire' Is Still Underrated
British outlet Far Out Magazine published a long-form reassessment of The Strokes' 2003 album Room on Fire on August 9, 2026. The piece argues the record — long overshadowed by the band's 2001 debut Is This It — actually shows a band more musically and lyrically sure of itself. The Strokes' lineup at the time was Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond Jr, Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti.
Production: Nigel Godrich sessions scrapped, Gordon Raphael returns
Before settling on a producer, the band tried working with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich; those sessions were ultimately scrapped entirely, and the band went back to Gordon Raphael, who had produced their debut. Far Out frames the return to Raphael not as an attempt to repeat the Is This It formula, but as a matter of trust in a producer who understood the band.
Speaking to Five Cent Sound in 2022, Raphael described the pressure heading into the studio: "My stress was from feeling their stress." He recalled the band's heads being cluttered with things unrelated to music at the time, saying "the psychology was different this time." He also noted that after nearly two years of non-stop touring, the members had become "exaggerated versions of themselves," carrying the weight of expectations to deliver again.
Key tracks singled out in the piece
- "What Ever Happened?" — its opening guitar riff, described by Far Out as familiar yet never repetitive
- "Reptilia" — its riff judged as instantly recognizable as "Last Nite" or "The Modern Age," featuring one of Casablancas' career-defining vocal performances
- "You Talk Way Too Much" — noted for its yearning melodic line
- "Under Control" — praised for its lean arrangement, singled out as the album's high point
- "Meet Me in the Bathroom"
- "The Way It Is" — its synth-driven push linking the band's sound to its post-punk lineage
Following in the shadow of 'Is This It'
Is This It is regarded as a landmark of the turn-of-the-millennium rock revival, instantly making The Strokes a face of the garage rock and post-punk revival with roots traceable to New York predecessors like Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. Because the debut became such an immediate cultural focal point, its follow-up was destined to face intense scrutiny no matter which direction it took.
Far Out's conclusion is that Room on Fire is still overshadowed by its predecessor today, but that it's more than enough to refute any claim of a 'sophomore slump.' The album was released by Rough Trade Records.