Considering that Nick Valensi was the last member of
the Strokes to pursue a side project, it wouldn't have been surprising if he had stuck to collaborations with artists like
Devendra Banhart,
Regina Spektor, and
Sia. With
CRX, however, he takes his turn as a frontman, surrounding himself with members of
Guards, the Dose, and
the Reflections. On
New Skin, the band borrows the shiniest and crunchiest parts of power pop and metal from the '70s and '80s -- styles
the Strokes flirted with on albums like
Angles and songs such as "Juicebox," but
CRX trades that band's New York cool for California chill with the help of producer Josh Homme. Working with the
Queens of the Stone Age leader was an inspired choice, since he knows how to make music that's equally heavy and catchy. The band fares best on the poppiest songs, which sound like they should be played on a radio format that doesn't exist anymore. "Anything" sounds like
the Cars on an extra-snotty day, while the glistening new wave chug of "Ways to Fake It" and "One Track Mind" feels like the work of a band that influenced
the Strokes instead of one of its members. ~ Heather Phares