By Carelton Atwater

New York City’s music scene has been the breeding ground for many of today’s biggest bands. The Strokes are without a doubt one of the most prominent of these NYC-born groups. For much of last year, you couldn’t open a music magazine or turn on a radio without hearing about them.

All of the hype started in the fall of 2001 with the American release of their debut album, “Is This It?” The LP was well received and topped many critics “Best of ’01” lists.

Now The Strokes are back with the release of their second full-length album, “Room on Fire.” For many bands with a signature sound, a great challenge lies in how to update their sound while still remaining true to their core audience. “Room On Fire” clearly shows a new version of The Strokes. The songs on this album are more dense then the previous one. These boys are still laid-back, but more aggressive in how they relate it all to you. Their guitars have more of a crunch to them, but still flow in their trademark manner.

The rhythm section of Nikolai Fraiture on bass and Fabrizio Moretti on drums is less prominent on this outing. On “Is This It?” Fraiture and Moretti carried much of the weight, giving the songs a wonderful bouncing feel. They have been pushed to the back of the mix on this album so the guitars can have more of the spotlight.

Lyrically, many of the songs reflect the band’s newfound status as celebrities. The first track, “What Ever Happened?” opens with the lyrics, “I want to be forgotten/and I don’t want to be reminded,” perhaps commenting on the new pressures of success.

“Room on Fire” is a strong album and shows a band growing in ability and range. At the same time, much of the carefree charm of their first album is missing here. It seems that these boys realize they needed to prove themselves on this album and avoid the dreaded “sophomore slump.” You can’t blame them for trying so hard, and this is clearly no slump, but this LP doesn’t quite match “Is This It?” This CD isn’t as fun to listen to, and the way they made it all seem so easy isn’t present this time around.

Despite these concerns, The Strokes are still a terrific and vital band and are deserving of the praise they receive, as well as your $14 for this release.