The Strokes’ bassist’s summer fling is With You Tonight [Review]

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Chris Gillett |
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Nikolai Fraiture is more commonly known for playing bass in iconic New York rock band The Strokes, though this isn’t his first time going it alone (his previous solo project was called Nickel Eye). He returns with new album With You Tonight under the name Summer Moon.

Happenin’ recalls The Strokes’ acclaimed record Is This It in its bass line, megaphone vocals and a sharp drum pattern. Fraiture looks back to the 80s on the title track – a dead ringer for 80s art rock group Talking Heads’ This Must Be The Place. Cleopatra could easily be mistaken for new wave band Tom Tom Club, thanks to its Afro-rhythms and the repeated line “we got the beat now”.

Class A steers more towards a punk sound, mixing in college rock choruses, then Chemical Solution is reminiscent of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Parallel Universe. Girls on Bikes and Car vs Bldg have a darker gothic feel, and Into The Sun takes a turn for the melancholic.

Even though With You Tonight is crammed with borrowed ideas, Summer Moon has created an uplifting ode to a bygone musical era, filling the void as we wait patiently for The Strokes’ return.

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