The Strokes (1998–present)
After meeting future guitarist Nick Valensi and drummer Fab Moretti at Dwight School in Manhattan, Casablancas began to play music with them. He reconnected with guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. when the latter moved to New York. The band was formed in 1998 when Hammond was accepted into the band, with Casablancas as the lead vocalist and main songwriter and Nikolai Fraiture on bass.
The band began rehearsing a fourteen-song set which included "Alone, Together", "Barely Legal", "Last Nite", "The Modern Age", "New York City Cops", "Soma", "Someday", "Take It or Leave It" and "This Life" (an early version of "Trying Your Luck"). Most of these songs now feature different lyrics. A demo sent to the newly reformed Rough Trade Records in the UK sparked interest there, leading to their first release via the website of the UK magazine NME, who gave away a free mp3 download of "Last Nite" a week prior to the physical release as part of The Modern Age EP in 2001. The EP sparked a bidding war among record labels, the largest for a rock and roll band in years. Shortly after, the Strokes' critically acclaimed debut album Is This It was released.
The band received high praise for Is This It, setting the stage for what people expected would "save rock" in the new millennium. Though some would argue that such statements left unreasonably sized shoes to fill, the Strokes are still highly recognized as one of the most influential garage rock bands of the early 2000s, paving the way for many alternative bands to come.
However, the group found it difficult to replicate their early critical success. In an excerpt from Lizzie Goodman's Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City, 2001–2011 – named after the Strokes' track – Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. comments, "With Room on Fire [2003], people were giving us sh_ because they said we were sounding too much the same. With the third album [First Impressions of Earth], we were getting sh_ that we don't sound like Room on Fire. We got __ by the same thing twice!"
After the release of the two other albums and several major tours, the band took a five-year break, returning with their fourth album, Angles, in 2011. The five-year hiatus was said to be the result of conflicting solo projects, sobriety issues, and unspoken emotions. The Strokes' drummer Fab Moretti said the band struggled to process such "subconscious volcanic emotions", partly because they were still "children" at the time.
Although their creative processes have been critiqued by outside observers as "a democracy under a dictator", Casablancas said in 2010 that the band was moving "more in the direction of everyone being equal." Commenting on Casablancas' creative process, guitarist Nick Valensi has said, "his ear is so sharp. He's the one with the ear for detail in this band. Creatively, he is a force to be reckoned with." The 2011 release, Angles, is said to reflect the beginning of the more collaborative nature of the band's creative process.
The album release was followed by several headlining appearances at musical festivals, including Reading, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. The band released Comedown Machine in 2013, as their last album under the contract with long-time label RCA, for which they did no promotion. The band released an EP, Future Present Past, on Casablancas' own label Cult Records in 2016.
In December 2018, it was announced that the band would headline at Bilbao BBK Live in 2019, kicking off their global comeback. Numerous dates for festivals and shows were subsequently announced, including a show at the Governors Ball Music Festival, marking the band's return to New York City.
Starting May 14, 2019, the Strokes teased some new songs, starting with "The Adults are Talking", live at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, suggesting that the Strokes might release a new album. On December 31, 2019, at Brooklyn NYE, they performed "Ode to the Mets" as an offer from Casablancas to sing live instead of singing songs from Angles as requested by fans. "I don't remember Angles. What's Angles?" Casablancas responded before suggesting that the band play the new song and later confirming the release of a new project.
The band released the album The New Abnormal in April 2020, though writing sessions for songs on the album started as early as 2016. The following year, there was rumors that they were working with Rick Rubin for a new album, however Albert Hammond Jr. said they were only presenting ideas to him. However, he would eventually end up producing the album. It was their first full-length album since Comedown Machine. The album won the band their first Grammy Award, receiving the award for Best Rock Album. The album received positive reviews from critics, suggesting that the band came back with more maturity and better cohesion among the bandmates. On July 24th, 2026, The Strokes released their 7th LP "Reality Awaits"
