The Strokes, jokingly promoting 2006's First Impressions Of Earth

The Facts

The Strokes are a band from New York City that formed in 1998. The band was brought together by lead singer Julian Casablancas, who met lead guitarist Nick Valensi and metronomic drummer Fab Morretti at the cosmopolitan preparatory Dwight School in New York. Casablancas discovered the bands imposing bassist Nikolai Fraiture at the French curriculum high school Lycee Francais de New York, while rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jnr. was befriended at the exclusive Swiss boarding school Le Rosey.

The Strokes released the now legendary The Modern Age EP in 2001, which provoked a bidding war between record labels, and provided the mammoth amounts of hype surrounding the band. Which was followed by the release of The Strokes’ debut album Is This It being in 2001 to rave reviews, critics averaging 9/10 and receiving perfect scores from the likes of NME. The album would win multiple album of the year awards and would litter the top tens of many prominent album of the decade lists.

The second and third albums, Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth were released in 2003 and 2006. Room on Fire received success with critics, but didn’t live up to Is This It in commercial terms. First Impressions of Earth then received many mixed reviews, but did manage to debut at number one in the UK charts, which neither of the previous albums had managed. It also spawning the single “Juicebox” which was only the bands second UK top ten hit. The band then went on a ‘much needed break’ before starting on new material in 2009, which led to the release of Angles earlier this year.

The Strokes in 2001: Ready and waiting to turn the rock world on it's head

The Opinion

The Strokes are not only one of the best bands performing at the festival, but one of the best bands around today. Is This It has already gone down in history, and for good reason; it’s the album that not only influenced most of the indie music that it preceded, but was influenced by some fantastic artists before it. From The Strokes, I have later gone on to listen to The Velvet Underground and Television, so if The Strokes can’t be thanked for their own genius, then I can at least thank them for that.  But they are more than just a one trick pony, which is shown from their follow up albums. Room On Fire spawned some essential indie tunes such as ‘Reptilia’, ’12:51’, and ‘Between Love & Hate’; First Impressions of Earth had ‘Juicebox’ and ‘You Only Live Once’; and Angles already seems to be creating classics with ‘Machu Picchu’, ‘Under Cover Of Darkness’, and ‘Gratisfaction’. The music hasn’t dated either, which was illustrated when Is This It was voted album of the decade by the trend seeking NME.

Julian Casblancas throws everything into the band's big comeback show at Isle Of Wight

The Setlist (Spoilers)

It seems certain that the live performance given by The Strokes is bound to create an unforgettable moment when they hit Reading and Leeds alongside the pinnacle of today’s indie music. There’s no doubt that they have the back catalogue to produce an unbeatable show, and they’ve been on top form ever since coming back from their break with lauded performances at Coachella and the Isle Of Wight; there’s really no reason to miss them.

When it comes to The Strokes setlist, it’s clear that the majority of songs will be taken from Is This It and Angles. Also expect to hear a selection of favourite from Room on Fire and First Impressions Of Earth. You can anticipate a setlist such as this:

• New York City Cops
• Reptilia
• Taken For A Fool
• Is This It
• Alone, Together
• Machu Picchu
• Under Cover Of Darkness
• You Only Live Once
• You’re So Right
• What Ever Happened?
• Life Is Simple In The Moonlight
• Gratisfaction
• Someday
• Juicebox
• Last Nite
• Hard To Explain
• Automatic Stop
• Take It Or Leave It

As well as this, there is also a chance of some brand new material coming our way at Reading and Leeds as the band have already hinted that they are back in the studio working on album number five.