‘Room On Fire’: A masterpiece killed by hype?
Being a fan of a rising artist is a thrilling ride. There’s the joy of discovering something special, the camaraderie of others jumping on the bandwagon, and the smug satisfaction of knowing you were there first. The debut record was incredible, the first tour unforgettable—but then comes the question: what’s next? Every music fan knows the dread of the infamous second album, the looming spectre of a potential downfall that could tarnish a promising legacy. Yet, for The Strokes, the “make or break” pressure of their sophomore album wasn’t as straightforward as it might seem.
Cemented with the pioneering and extraordinary success of the band’s debut album, Is This It, there was always an element of being a tough act to follow. By all accounts, the resulting effort – 2003’s Room on Fire – was a hasty job, being recorded from start to finish in just three months.
According to The Strokes’ producer, Gordon Raphael, this played a role in the album’s initial lacklustre reception. He said in a recent interview: “At the time that Room On Fire came out, there wasn’t the same kind of public outcry of support,” he said. “My theory is that it does sound like The Strokes, it has that Strokes sound, and the first time that the world ever heard that sound it was a brand new concept so people went crazy for it. The second time they heard it… it could have been better songs and more time spent on their recording but they’ll never capture that first time that you hear a certain sound and feeling.”
Despite the critical perception of monotony that may have somewhat muted the masses, it didn’t seem to deter a tenacious group of core fans. In over 20 years since its release, the record has gained a cult status among Strokes diehards. There’s a richness in its juxtapositions that shouldn’t really work but just somehow do – riffing guitars that scream a hopeful tone, a sense that rock and roll has been electrified with joy. Indeed, frontman Julian Casablancas has admitted in more recent years that Room On Fire has superseded its more acclaimed predecessor as being a more accurate portrait of the band’s quintessential sound.
That’s all well and good to say with the benefit of hindsight, but at the time, other issues hindered the album’s success. Raphael explained: “In my view, they were not as keen to tour as they were on the first album. [They had been] like, ‘We’re going to see the world! We’ve never toured out of the US before – we’ve never even toured the US before!’ So they were really excited, and they found themselves on a two-year tour of the world. It was crazy.”
In time, however, the rush took its toll. “I think they learned that ‘Yeah, we had a lot of fun; we partied a lot’ – they went for it, right? And I think by the time the second album was ready, they just wanted to play some important festivals and do some touring but not kill themselves like they did on the first one. They got a kind of a negative reaction from not knocking themselves out on tour,” Raphael recalled.
Ultimately, The Strokes may have learned the hard way that connecting with your fans can cost you everything – but it’s a monopoly on whether they want more of the same or something entirely different. Yet when it comes to tunes like ‘Reptilia’ from Room On Fire, it seems that many fans can wisen up to the magic of the music long after the event.
