The Strokes – Is This It (US Cover)

Is This It is the debut studio album by The Strokes, released in 2001. It introduced a sharp blend of garage rock revival and post-punk energy, underscored by lo-fi production and catchy guitar hooks. Across its compact tracklist, the band balances youthful restlessness with melodic sense, with songs like Last Nite, Someday, and Hard to Explain standing out for their immediacy and raw charisma. The album’s vibe is one of crisp tension—edgy yet polished enough not to feel unfinished, giving listeners both attitude and memorability.

Over time, Is This It has come to be seen not just as a strong debut but as a landmark in early-2000s indie rock. Its influence has rippled outward through countless artists who embraced that stripped-down, back-to-basics rock sound. Despite—or perhaps because of—its simplicity and brevity, it captures a moment of renewed guitar-driven excitement, one that contrasted sharply with the more elaborate production and genre trends of its time.

Reviews

“Is This It sets the highs and lows of being young, jaded, and yearning to a wonderfully bouncy bassline; ‘Alone Together’ and ‘Trying Your Luck’ develop the group's brooding comedowns, while ‘Soma,’ ‘Someday,’ and ‘Take It or Leave It’ capture the Strokes at their most sneeringly exuberant. Able to make the time-worn themes of sex, drugs, and rock & roll and the basic guitars-drum-bass lineup seem new and vital again, the Strokes may or may not be completely arty and calculated, but that doesn't prevent Is This It from being an exciting, compulsively listenable debut.” — AllMusic

“In a perfect 10 review, NME reviewer John Robinson indicated that Is This It was one of the best debut LPs by a guitar band during the past 20 years.” — NME

“In his favorable A- review, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly conceded that he did not know whether the Strokes would have a long-term impact, but noted that, at the time, the record ‘just feels right, and sometimes that's enough’.” — Entertainment Weekly

“See, while I can't agree with the Strokes' messianic treatment, I'd be lying if I said I thought Is This It was anything other than a great rock record.” — Pitchfork