First Impressions of Earth by The Strokes

First Impressions of Earth, the third album from the Strokes, came out on RCA at the turn of the year, first in Germany on December 30, 2005, then in the UK on January 2, 2006, and everywhere else the next day. With David Kahne producing, the band pushed past the lean, clipped rush of their early records into something bigger, heavier and knottier.

Julian Casablancas sings with more bite and more desperation than before, Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr. twist their guitars into tighter, trickier shapes (Valensi adding keyboards to the mix), and Nikolai Fraiture's bass and Fabrizio Moretti's drums hold it all down with a new muscle. "Juicebox" is the lead single and a jolt: a thumping, snarling riff and a vocal that goes from croon to howl. "Heart in a Cage" churns and stomps, and "You Only Live Once" is the most classic-sounding Strokes song here, bright and hooky and bittersweet.

Those were the three singles, and together they show a band stretching its legs in every direction at once.

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