By Michael Osborn BBC News Online

The Strokes created a stir with their debut offering Is This It

Being hailed as the saviours of rock has its drawbacks, especially when it comes to producing that "difficult" second album.

The quintet, fronted by mop-headed Julian Casablancas, have youth on their side and an appetite for their trade.

The hype generated by this comeback may well be enough to sustain their dream.

Taster single 12:51 has already spawned a first top 10 hit for this outfit, ensuring their place in the mainstream.

Rougher edges

And What Ever Happened? kicks this collection off in explosive, melodious style.

Casablancas' vocals have rougher edges than the undercooked 12:51 - the guitars crunch in a very orderly fashion, and finger-clicks adds a neat touch.

Reptilia and Automatic Stop are solid wedges of rock, but suffer from dullness.

Casablancas shows off his raw tones again on You Talk Too Much, a song blessed with some intricate guitar work and fevered noise.

A discernable drum beat raises its head on Between Love & Hate, which has the joy of a light, indie disco pleaser.

As albums go, you are not going to find another as neatly structured as this.

Skilfully honed

For a band who trade on their rough and ready image, this record sounds militarily precise.

Its bite-sized chunks of compressed rock music are skilfully honed, and the raw rarely escapes its constraints.

Variation does not come easily either - some tracks are lost in the ether.

This is not a life-changing album, but neither will it see The Strokes tumble off their pedestal of acclaim.

Room On Fire by The Strokes is out now on Rough Trade.

A selection of your reviews are below.

The new album is fantastic. I have been waiting over 2 years for 'Room on Fire' and I was not dissapointed! Long live the strokes.
Willie Duff, Scotland

I love The Strokes - it is the best album in in the USA. Love the new music form the band.
Tiffany Walker, Dolton in USA

they played it too safe with this one.
daniel lee, uk

Great album but at only 33 mins long after two years since Is This It a little short maybe, great riffs and nice tunes, the voice is a little muted on all the tracks and always seems to have the 'Strokes effect' on it. It's one of those albums that you instantly like but like all good albums hopefully will take time to fall in love with.

Rich kids from New York making music with their dads' cash maybe, but damn fine music it is. Long may they continue in the same way, the tracks are short and punchy but you don't feel as if any of them are any longer then they have to be for the sake of the 3min 30sec single formula.

Like Muse and Radiohead, they make music for music's sake not for convention or for anybody else, they seem to say this is our music as we like it, like it if you do, if not they won't lose any sleep. Go buy it and decide for yourself, like it or loath it, it's worth spending the time to decide.
Dan B, UK

I felt that "Is This It" was overrated and that the NME have lost all proportion when it comes to The Strokes. Much has been written about the vocals being too low in the mix but I think part of this is due to the fact the guitars have been brought to the fore and this is where "Room on Fire" is an improvement on "Is this It" The Strokes are now better musicians than they were. Many tracks sound like duets between guitar and vocal and I find myself singing along to the guitar.

The band I keep thinking of when I listen to this is Pulp from around "His n Hers" & "Different Class" if you think of tracks like "Do you remember the first time?" it is easy to imagine The Strokes performing them. There is also the constant use of he and she in a way that others don't tend to, viewing things in a detached way.

This album isn't going to change the world. It certainly isn't very adventurous but then very few popular bands are. What this album contains is a bunch of good popsongs (non as good as "Last Nite" perhaps) and there is nothing wrong with that
Joe, UK

Room On Fire is just Is This It vol 2, it's okay, very average, but then that's is how I would describe the first album too. It's a bit like listening to a whole album of songs in demo form (again!), they are sticking to the same, safe formula . The Strokes are alright, if a little overhyped. The NME think they are the bees-knees, which has obviously helped them a lot. But I can think of more exciting albums and bands.
Nigel, UK

This album is superb, bit heavier than the last, but seems to contain the sheer amount of enrgy as Is This It. You could thrash all night to this, and the best song has to be The End Has No End, it is simply brilliant.
Olly Glass, England

They aren't a band, they are a haircut, and a bad one at that. This LP will hopefully be the end of them. The only reason they are big is because their rich daddies bankrolled their career by using contacts in the fashion mag industry to boost their profile. Now we see them for what they are - a pretty bog-standard indie band trying to be clever but suffering from second album syndrome. Pathetic.
Mike Paton, England

Excellent stuff, more of the same leading on from Is This It. The songs are slightly more subtle and a little more mature but still slay the opposition. Casablancas reaffirms his reputation as a great frontman and the Strokes legend lives on, (for now). Good work gents.
Ben, UK

Room On Fire is evidence that even a band with one of the most widely loved debuts of recent times can still manage to follow it up with a record full of energy, full of woe about love and full of 11 songs that are better than 90% of Is This It.

The most widely talked about song is Under Control, a 60s motown ballad and whilst this is the biggest change of direction for the group, The End Has No End and opener What Ever Happened are the 2 tracks that grow on you until it's impossible to stop humming them in your sleep.

Much has been said that this isn't a great leap from their debut but to me the songs are more complete and the guitar, drum and bass work show a band musicians opening up the horizon of their talent.

Some fear the third album saying it will be more important than Room on Fire but with this event probably another 2 years away singer/songwriter Julian Casablancas should not fret and instead bathe in the glory of a second masterpiece in as many years.
Louise Ellis, UK

Flatter than the average motorway-dwelling hedgehog. The vocals are Julian as we all know and love him, not much change there. But the music seems to have lost a lot of energy, the spark that made the debut so exciting simply isn't there. It's not a leap into the great beyond but an album that leaves me nonplussed. I don't hate it, I don't love it, I won't praise it and I won't slate it. It just passes you by. A big disappointment.
Andy, Canada

Just like the drummer's name, "Fab."
Sarah Woolley, UK

Life is better with the Strokes, magic is the word!
Mark, UK

Good, but in the final analysis, when I played it to my mother she said what I had when I heard it - sounds like Blondie. This is where the problem lies, the first record was great but this sounds definitely in the shadow of the former.

The Strokes plunder Television, Blondie and just about all of the NYC new wave of the late seventies, but for some reason this sounds like a tribute band, not a work inspired by the undoubtedly great artists they are drawing on heavily. Something is missing on this release. However, overall one will not be disappointed, but most fans were probably wanting a bit more, not a bit less.
Phil Lines, United Kingdom

It's about as OK as that debut album - still not the future of music then. I'd plump for the reissue of Television's Marquee Moon, which is the kind of record The Strokes could NEVER make.
Jason Parkes, UK

Q magazine somewhat innappropriately give Room on Fire the maximum 5 red stars! What a total joke! This album is full of Is This It B-sides and nothing more! That said, I seem to remember Q gave Be Here Now the same amount of stars - go figure!! Thumbs down for both Q and the Strokes!
SnM, UK

I just don't get this. The songs are reasonable, but the plaudits are just so over the top - it's no more or less derivative than the Stereophonics, and only marginally more interesting. If all rock music has to offer is sub-Velvet Underground karaoke like this and recycled guff like Kings of Leon then music fans may as well give up and start listening to Dido!
Jonathan H, UK

Didn't like it at first, but stay with it, it's a grower! Think of it as a CD2 extension of the first album. You'll be humming the tunes in a week's time.
Chris Jones, UK

I've heard the album a few times now. While I was never a big fan of the first record I'll admit that it was a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately I don't think Room on Fire has enough new ideas on it. It's essentially the same album with some wibbly noises on a couple of tracks!
Mark, UK