HIGH ROTATIONS

Ahead of their festival dates (including Splendour), New York’s The Strokes have released a three-track EP, the first new offering since 2013’s Comedown Machine. The EP is also a first release without record label RCA, and instead is sitting right at home with frontman Julian Casablanca’s label, Cult Records. OBLIVIUS, the single taken from the EP, treads old and new ground, bursting at the seams with trademark angular riffs and explosive choruses. The other two tracks, Drag Queen and Threat Of Joy embody the new Strokes and the old Strokes respectively - the latter starts as a spoken word before easing into a carefree, jangly track reminiscent of better days. In addition to all this, I’ve had a lightbulb moment: the EP’s title perfectly reflects the tracks themselves. Drag Queen is the Future; OBLIVIUS is the Present; and Threat Of Joy is the Past.

The Strokes’ new EP ‘Future Present Past’ is out June 3rd through Cult Records.