In 2001, The Strokes released their landmark debut album, Is This It. Upon its release, the album was immediately successful and had a huge impact on popular music at the time. Coming after the grunge heyday of the ’90s, their simple no frills sound paved the way for other indie rock bands like The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys to achieve mainstream success. Their immediate success, both critically and commercially, proved that vintage rock sounds could still be successful in today’s music scene. Without The Strokes, many of the rock bands we know and love today may not have even got off the ground. Here at OurStage we have many great up-and-coming rock bands, but one band in particular, The Black Rabbits, have a sound that is quite similar to that of The Strokes.
OurStage's The Black Rabbits
The Strokes
Like The Strokes, The Black Rabbits have a sound that takes its influence from classic rock, but also has a modern touch which makes them unique. If you listen to their song “Hypno Switch,” you can hear some immediate similarity to The Strokes’ song “Trying Your Luck.” Both songs are recorded at about the same tempo and are based around slightly distorted guitar chords. Like The Strokes’ singer Julian Casablancas, The Black Rabbits’ singer Jetson Black possesses a deep croon that is rough around the edges, but is still melodic and in tune. However, while “Trying Your Luck” has a relatively dark tone, “Hypno Switch” is a more upbeat affair with a really catchy wordless chorus. “Hurry, Hurry” is another track that is similar to the sound of The Strokes. With the guitar, bass and drums playing in almost rhythmic unison, the focus of the song is on Black’s vocals. The song is more somber than “Hypno Switch,” but Black’s deep voice still fit this style perfectly. “For Way Too Long Now” is another song in this vein, where simple guitar chords allow a catchy vocal melody to shine through. The chorus also finds Black using the kind of distorted growl in his vocals that Julian Casablancas has made famous.
Continue reading ‘The Black Rabbits Vs. The Strokes’
In a move that sounds cooler the more we think about it, English electronic group Hot Chip have been chosen to chosen to provide the introductory music for the Olympic table tennis competition. With their Olympic foray, Hot Chip join a host of English musical luminaries who are already involved with the 2012 London games. The all-star list includes Paul McCartney, Arctic Monkeys, MIA, Adele, and Muse, who will reportedly all be performing at the opening ceremony of the games tomorrow night. Muse’s song “Survival” is also the official song of the 2012 Olympics.
