Room on Fire

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox album Room on Fire is the second studio album by American rock band the Strokes, released on October 21, 2003, through RCA Records.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Its title is derived from a lyric in the song "Reptilia". The album received positive reviews upon its release and reached number four on the US Billboard 200, where it went on to sell 597,000 units by October 2006,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> earning a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. Three singles were released from the album: "12:51", "Reptilia", and "The End Has No End".

Recording

Immediately after touring for their debut album Is This It, the Strokes returned to the studio. They hired Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, but fired him when, according to the band, their work together proved "soulless".<ref name="CBC">Template:Cite news</ref> Godrich said of the failed collaboration: "The problem there was that me and [singer Julian Casablancas] are just too similar, we're both control freaks. He wanted to do it his way, I wanted to do it my way, and obviously that's the point of me being there. And I'm saying 'Well, why am I here if you're not prepared to try and do it the way I want to do it?' We got on great, it was just one of those laughable things where it just doesn't work. I wanted them to change, and they didn't."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Those sessions were ultimately scrapped and the band returned to their original producer, Gordon Raphael. The Strokes had exactly three months of studio time left to record the album. Guitarist Nick Valensi stated that "the album would've ended up a lot better if we'd had another couple of weeks."<ref name="p4k">Jonathan Garrett (7 March 2011). Is This It: Ten Years of the Strokes Template:Webarchive Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 10 December 2011.</ref>

Critical reception

Template:Music ratings The music of Room on Fire has been described as indie rock,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> garage rock revival,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and new wave.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album received generally positive reviews from critics: on the review aggregating website Metacritic, it currently has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".<ref name="MC" /> However, in general, reviewers found the album too similar to Is This It.<ref name="p4k" /> Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork gave the album an 8 out of 10, but stated that the band "have all but given birth to an identical twin."<ref name="pfork" /> A positive review from Rolling Stone said that "the Strokes have resisted the temptation to hit the brakes, grow up and screw around with a sound that doesn't need fixing — yet." The review also stated that "if you want comfort and clarity, you're definitely in the wrong room. This record was built for thrills and speed."<ref name="RS" /> Dan Tallis of BBC Music gave it a favorable review and said, "Bands should think themselves lucky to achieve such heights just once in their careers. However, they've done all they could have done. They've made Is This It part two. It's more of the same plus extras. And I'm more than happy to settle for that."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ben Thompson of The Observer gave it all five stars and said, "This is a feeling that can be inspired only by people making the absolute most of an opportunity to communicate: cutting through all the rubbish that surrounds them to make a clear and memorable artistic statement. And that the Strokes should have managed to do such a thing at this stage in their careers, is - I think - an achievement of real significance."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Greg Milner of Spin gave it a score of eight out of ten and said that its "similarity to its predecessor ultimately bespeaks a purity of vision, not a dearth of new ideas."<ref name=spin /> Jenny Tatone of Neumu gave it a score of nine stars out of ten and said, "The Strokes don't make the most original sounding music you've ever heard, but they make something that is only the Strokes."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention (Template:Rating-Christgau) while picking out two songs from the album ("Between Love and Hate" and "What Ever Happened?") and stating simply, "Narcissism repeats itself."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Not all reviews were positive, however. Raoul Hernandez of The Austin Chronicle gave the album a score of two stars out of five and stated that "even the half-hearted retreads... cashing in on the notoriously unwashed NYC quintet's debut can't muster a wink."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Iain Moffat of Playlouder gave the album only one star and said of the Strokes, "There's little of the pop sparkle that shone through the likes of 'The Modern Age' and 'Last Nite' even when - as with 'You Talk Way Too Much' - they're rewriting old material, and Julian's vocals are, to be blunt, awful, sounding uncomfortable to record and rather complacently nasal."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2013, Room On Fire was listed at number 360 on NMETemplate:'s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2018, the BBC included it in their list of "the acclaimed albums that nobody listens to any more".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reappraisal

In later years, Room on Fire has received critical acclaim and is regarded by fans as one of the Strokes' best albums. In 2021, Pitchfork included Room on Fire on its list of album review scores they "would change if they could", upgrading its score from 8.0 to 9.2 out of 10, though they stated this would not change the actual score. Lane Brown of Pitchfork praised it as a "different, better album with major improvements over its predecessor". Scoring a 0.1 bonus point more than Is This It, Room on Fire is commended in marking confident progress and "at least partially thwarting rock history's most inevitable backlash."<ref name="Pitchfork Reviews: Rescored">Template:Cite web</ref>

Commercial performance

The album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 in the US, and was later certified Gold by the RIAA in December 2003,<ref>[[[:Template:BillboardURLbyName]] Room on Fire - The Strokes] Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2011.</ref><ref>RIAA - Searchable Database RIAA. Note: reader must define search parameters as "Strokes".</ref> and platinum certification for selling over one million units in June 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Track listing

Template:Track listing

Personnel

The Strokes

Julian Casablancas – vocals
Albert Hammond, Jr. – guitar
Nick Valensi – guitar
Nikolai Fraiture – bass
Fabrizio Moretti – drums

Production

Gordon Raphael – producer
Toshikazu Yoshioka – head engineer
William Kelly – second engineer
Greg Calbi – mastering
Steve Fallone – mastering
J. P. Bowersock – "sensei"

Design

Peter Phillips – cover art ("War/Game", used with permission and courtesy of Zoe Phillips)
Colin Lane – photography
Brett Kilroe – art direction

Singles

Singles from *Room on Fire*
Title	Information
"12:51"	Released: October 6, 2003 Chart positions: No. 7 (UK Singles Chart) No. 15 (US Modern Rock)
"Reptilia"	Released: February 9, 2004 Chart positions: No. 17 (UK Singles Chart) No. 19 (US Modern Rock)
"The End Has No End"	Released: November 1, 2004 Chart positions: No. 27 (UK Singles Chart) No. 35 (US Modern Rock)