Maps of Music

First Impressions of Earth (2005)

Where the lyrics of First Impressions of Earth take you, and where it was really made.

The album reached number one in the UK, the band's first chart-topper anywhere, yet it never earned UK platinum status.

Key places

Recording at Allaire Studios (2005)

Recording site Allaire Studios — Allaire Studios is one of the two studios where the album was recorded, the other being Red Carpet Studios. The album was recorded over a ten-month period. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixing at Soundtrack Studios (2005)

Recording site Soundtrack Studios — The album was mixed at Soundtrack Studios in New York City. This mixing work is listed separately from the recording sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• First Impressions of Earth: third studio album by American rock band The Strokes
• Released through RCA Records: first on 30 December 2005 in Germany, 2 January 2006 in the UK, and 3 January 2006 elsewhere
• Three singles: "Juicebox", "Heart in a Cage", and "You Only Live Once"

Background

• Recorded over a ten-month period
• The band first planned to record with Gordon Raphael, producer of their first two albums
• Guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. introduced them to Grammy Award-winning producer David Kahne
• Kahne was brought in to collaborate with Raphael, but the collaboration did not work out
• Raphael stepped down, and Kahne produced the majority of the album

Recording

• Recorded at Red Carpet Studios and Allaire Studios
• Mixed at Soundtrack Studios in New York City
• Mastering done at Masterdisk, with tracks 9 and 10 mastered at Gateway Mastering

Cover

• Cover art: "Ohne Titel" (1968) by Lothar Quinte
• Rear cover art: "Mathematik der Intuition" (1962) by Günter Fruhtrunk
• Disc artwork: "Strumenti Musicali" (1952) by Piero Fornasetti
• Photography by Dan Winters

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1998.
• Lead vocalist and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti made up the lineup, which has remained unchanged since formation.
• Casablancas, Valensi and Moretti began playing together as teenagers at Dwight School in Manhattan and formed an informal band in 1997.
• Fraiture, a childhood friend of Casablancas, joined later, and Hammond Jr. was the last member to join, at the end of 1998.
• Their first show as the Strokes was on September 14, 1999, at The Spiral.
• The Modern Age EP (2001), recorded with producer Gordon Raphael, sparked a bidding war among record labels and they eventually signed with RCA Records.

Members

• Julian Casablancas: lead vocals, keyboards, drums in studio.
• Nick Valensi: guitar, backing vocals, keyboards.
• Fabrizio Moretti: drums, percussion, keyboards.
• Nikolai Fraiture: bass, keyboards.
• Albert Hammond Jr.: guitar, backing vocals, keyboards.

Career

• Debut album Is This It (2001) received widespread critical acclaim and has appeared on numerous greatest-albums lists.
• Later albums include Room on Fire (2003), First Impressions of Earth (2005), Angles (2011), Comedown Machine (2013), and The New Abnormal (2020), which was produced by Rick Rubin and won Best Rock Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards.
• Seventh album Reality Awaits was released on July 24, 2026.
• The band's sound is described as indie rock, garage rock revival and post-punk revival, and later incorporated new wave and synth-pop.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: 69 out of 100 based on 38 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• Some reviews were among the harshest the band had received up to that point in its recording career
• AllMusic: Heather Phares called the release The Strokes' "weakest album yet"
• Entertainment Weekly: Will Hermes praised the album as a marked improvement over the band's previous record, Room on Fire
• Playlouder: gave the album four-and-a-half stars out of five
• Punknews.org: gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five
• MusicOMH: gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five
• Stylus Magazine: gave the album a B-minus
• Tiny Mix Tapes: gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five
• Drowned in Sound: gave the album six out of ten
• Uncut: gave the album three stars out of five, citing Julian Casablancas's singing as a limit on the record's ambition
• Paste: gave the album six out of ten
• Slant Magazine: gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of five
• PopMatters: gave the album five out of ten

Records

• UK Albums Chart: entered at number one, the band's first album at the top spot
• The first album by the band to reach number one on any chart worldwide
• US: peaked at number four, with 88,000 units in its entry week, somewhat below its predecessors
• Canada: debuted at number three, selling just under 10,000 copies
• US sales: 271,000 units as of October 2006
• RIAA gold certification in June 2021
• NME: ranked number eight on its Albums of the Year 2006 list
• The first album by the band not to reach UK platinum status

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Heart in a Cage was the second single, followed by You Only Live Once.
• Recording took place at two studios: Red Carpet Studios and Allaire Studios.
• Mixing was done at Soundtrack Studios in New York City, listed separately from the recording sessions.
• Some reviews were among the harshest the band had received up to that point in its career.
• Gordon Raphael, who produced the band's first two albums, stepped down from this one after the collaboration with David Kahne did not work out.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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