With all the media hype that dogged the Strokes before the release of their debut album, it's rather apt that they chose the title Is This It?. On the strength of just five songs, released over two singles, the Strokes were being hailed as everything from the saviours of rock & roll to the Saviour Himself. Surely, few bands could live up to the impossibly high standards set for this young five-piece, but they needn't have worried: Is This It? is one of the most exciting and energetic debut albums to spring from New York's long-dormant club scene. In fact, the Strokes are a New York City band through-and-through; like the Velvet Underground, these are a bunch of uptown artsy types elegantly slumming downtown to the tried-and-tested themes of sex, drugs and rock & roll. Their singer/songwriter, the fantastically named Julian Casablancas, delivers his lyrics with a weary nonchalance that belies his age on songs such as the title track, "Soma", "Hard to Explain" and the altogether wonderful "Barely Legal", while the band recall the likes of Television and the Stooges on "NYC Cops", "Last Night" and "The Modern Age". Sexy, stylish and undeniably cool, here's hoping that the Strokes are the future of rock & roll. --Robert Burrow