Don’t think that there isn’t a little bit of irony in the line “Everybody’s singing the same song for 10 years” from The Strokes new killer of a single, “Under Cover of Darkness.” After all, it’s been exactly 10 years since they dropped Is This It on the world, a debut album that held all the promise of a band that seemed poise to dominate the rock scene for a long time to come.

Yet since that time, many Strokes fans have been forced to listen to songs like “The Modern Age” and “Last Nite” on heavy repeat simply because the two follow-up albums left them wanting more. And the band’s fractious chemistry, which led to four of the five members releasing solo albums since 2006’s underwhelming First Impressions Of Earth, didn’t seem to bode well for any comeback.

All of these facts make the ringing triumph of the band’s latest album, Angles, seem even sweeter. Maybe the time away and the side projects were just what they needed, because the band has spoken in interviews about this being a true group effort for the first time in their history. Whatever the reason, The Strokes have their swagger back.

It’s evident on the reckless thrust of “Under Cover Of Darkness” and “Gratisfaction,” both built around the harmonizing, Thin Lizzy-style guitar attack of Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. and the propulsive and grooving rhythm section of bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Lead singer Julian Casablancas emerges from his signature unaffected croon to do some true wailing, and the band as a whole seems to be having fun again.

Of course, it wouldn’t be The Strokes without an honest exploration of the seedier aspects of the city nightlife. The icy funk of album-opening “Machu Picchu” captures that vibe effortlessly, but it also busts free with a killer chorus. Casablancas sings “I’m just trying to find/A mountain I can climb,” perhaps feeling hemmed in by the hipster scene he helped to define back in the day.

All over the album, catchy hooks and smoking refrains abound. But there is also a complexity in these tracks that speaks to the band’s maturity. For as great as Is This It is, many of the songs were one dimensional both in terms of music or attitude. Angles finds the band taking many interesting detours on the way to the inevitable, irresistible payoffs.

The album also finds Casablancas grasping for answers instead of simply detailing modern malaise and shrugging it off. “Call Me Back” and “Life Is Simple In The Moonlight” allow for welcome bits of introspection, as both burrow into the disconnections and self deceptions that can undermine relationships. The singer doesn’t pose his way through these songs. He imbues them with welcome, raw emotion.

From the New Wave moves of “Two Kinds Of Happiness” to the tense guitar attack of “Metabolism” to the ear candy of “Taken For A Fool,” there is nary a dull moment on the album. The band sounds invested in every one of these 10 songs, which the group produced, for the most part, by itself. It’s a far cry from the five guys who sounded self parodying on their second album and downright confused on their third.

Let’s just pretend all of that didn’t happen. It’s time to give Is This It a rest and give Angles a spin. Maybe it took 10 years, but the Strokes have finally delivered.

SAMPLE ANGLES

"Under Cover of Darkness"

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"Life Is Simple In The Moonlight"

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"Taken For a Fool"

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