We'd really be wrong to deny ourselves the pleasure simply because this album was one of the most anticipated of 2003. And if you fell for its predecessor, *Room Of Fire* will win you over just as much. The Strokes have found their language, which isn't tied to any single component. The New York band's urban and elegant rock moves with a total sense of tempo. Bass lines rise to meet guitar riffs, and the tension builds ("12:51," "You Talk Too Much"), while the songs coalesce around the essential idea. Short, direct, solidly electric ("The Way It Is"), they occasionally allow time for a flurry of notes from the two six-stringers. Otherwise, these two guitars, the true double backbone of Julian Casablancas' compositions, perform first-rate rhythmic work. It can rightly be compared to that of Lloyd and Verlaine in the late Television, also from New York City ("Under Control"). Gordon Raphael's production avoids the pitfalls of muted power, and he gives Fabrizio Moretti's drums a dry and elastic effectiveness. The kind of true rock'n'roll album that we'll still be listening to for a long time.
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