Hyden, an obsessive Strokes fan himself, tells this story well, albeit without uncovering much new material; almost all the information he presents about the Strokes is sourced from existing journalism, and he doesn’t pretend otherwise ... Hyden’s answers are mostly convincing and mostly interesting to chew on. One significant shortcoming is that he never reckons with the Strokes’ popularity — by all signs massive — among Gen Z fans ... But the book is, more than anything, fun.
Predicated on the importance of rock ‘n’ roll as a cultural institution of the 20th-century ... Entertainingly combative ... ts greatest pleasure is the sense of a period when critics could hype, provoke and argue about music with the confidence that their arguments might actually shape the culture.
Wry ... Like all elegists of underappreciated bands, he overstates the Strokes’ significance while skirting the possibility they just weren’t good enough to make it big ... Still, it’s an insightful, entertaining meditation on rock ’n’ roll might-have-beens.
