The Strokes, the seminal garage rockers who spearheaded the indie rock revival of the early 2000s, now only sporadically release new music and tour. Luckily they’ve kept busy. Julian Casablancas has put out some noteworthy cuts as a solo artist, while Albert Hammond Jr. brought a very not-New York sound to his record Yours To Keep. And now guitarist Nick Valensi introduces the world to CRX, a hard-rocking band that feels like a natural offshoot of the gritty New York atmosphere he helped create with The Strokes. It’s a far more mainstream sound than the one his 2007 collaboration with pysch-folkster Devendra Banhart on “Shabop Shalom” produced, but then again, most anything would be.
“Ways To Fake It,” the lead single off CRX’s debut effort New Skin, feels like it could find a home on blog radio. “Broken Bones” is perhaps the best example of the power pop meets heavy metal sound the group strives for. And with Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age as the album’s producer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make an appearance at CRX’s first Vegas show. Regardless, this is a band worth checking out.
Vinyl at the Hard Rock Hotel, 9 p.m. Dec. 17, starting at $12 plus tax and fee. 888.929.7849
