Out Stroked: How “Under Cover Of Darkness” by “The Strokes” Reflects On Their Personal Relationships

The Strokes have had an unbelievably successful career since releasing their first album Is This It in 2001. Their fame and success eventually led to tension, which came in the form of solo projects by many of the band members, along with feelings amongst their fans that they may never write together again. These issues are clearly expressed in their track, “Under Cover Of Darkness” from their 2011 album Angles. “Under Cover Of Darkness” is commonly mistaken as being about someone joining the army, due to Julian Casablancas’s unique singing, but I will demonstrate why this isn’t true. It is a metaphor for the “war” that was going on between the band members.

The Strokes broke into the scene in 2001 with their album, Is This It, which went platinum in the United States, Sweden, Canada, Australia and double platinum in the United Kingdom. Is This It was followed by Room On Fire just two years later (2003), which while not being held in as high regard as their first album, their track “Reptilia” from Room On Fire is one of their most recognizable songs. After the success of their first and second albums, The Strokes endured an extensive touring schedule which led to a hiatus from touring and writing as a group.

According to the setlist wiki, setlist.fm, from 2005–2006 they played a total of 148 shows. This might not sound like a lot for two years, but considering their shows last 2–3 hours, and all the travel associated with playing in different countries, this would take a toll on anyone in that situation. They wouldn’t tour as a group again until 2010 with only 16 shows.

One of Julian Casablancas’s (lead singer) lines from “Under Cover Of Darkness”, “I’ve been saying we’re beaten down, I won’t say it again”, is referring to the effects of their extensive touring. The Strokes knew they were overworked, but put up with it for the love of their music and fans. This is also reflected in Casablancas’s last lines, “get up in the morning give it your all”. The Strokes had done exactly that for two years, given it their all. They needed a break not just from their music, but from each other.

Casablancas repeats the lines, “I’ll wait for you”, “I still call”, “I better call you”, and “I will call you”. By him speaking in the first person, it feels like he’s reaching out but not getting anything in return. Also, he is referring to his bandmates’ side projects during their touring hiatus, and how he wanted the band back together. Albert Hammond Jr., the rhythm guitarist, released two solo albums — Yours To Keep in 2006 and Como Te LLama in 2008 — with some help from lead guitarist Nick Valensi. Hammond’s albums were very well received by audiences. While The Strokes’ drummer, Fabrizio Moretti, joined up with Los Hermanos in 2006 to create the band, Little Joy. Moretti also started his own band Megapuss with Valenci in 2006. Casablancas was happy for his friends’ success outside of The Strokes, but he wanted the band back together. This is what he is expressing in these lines.

The most painful lines to listen to are, “So long, my friend an adversary” and, “So long, my adversary and friend”. These lines are mentioning the disagreements they had amongst each other. What I found interesting is that “friend” is put before “adversary” twice. I take this as him acknowledging the tension between them, but insisting that they are friends first and that is what’s important. The “so long” referring to his bandmates being too busy to write together, which didn’t help their internal conflicts, or as Casablancas put it, “No house phones, but can I still call? Will you wait for me now?”

One of most emotion filled lines from this song has to be, “I’ve been out around this town everybody’s singing the same song for ten years”. This is referring to their hit songs from their first and second album — “Last Night”, “Someday”, “Reptilia”, “Take It Or Leave It”, and “Barely Legal” — which after a decade of playing these songs to please audiences left them wanting some different. If you just listen to Casablancas’s vocals on this line he sounds extremely fed up with the situation. To me, it sounds like he’s saying, “Come on it’s been ten years, let’s play some new material.” During their extensive touring from 2005–2006, they only had their first two albums to pull material from. Playing 148 shows with only 22 songs to choose from sounds like it would get old fast, but fans wanted to hear the songs they knew and loved. These songs were monumental in putting The Strokes in the spotlight and each of these songs encapsulates The Strokes sound, but it is understandable you’d want a change after a decade. (maybe one more confirmation claim?)

I know some avid fans of The Strokes, like myself, will think I’m placing too much weight on Casablancas’s word choice. If you listen to their discography you will hear how carefully chosen and descriptive Casablancas’s lyrics are. Every song he writes generally has a much deeper meaning than what you hear on the surface. The order and timing in which he places his words is never an accident and is intended for maximum effect of the emotion he is displaying.

Now as I mentioned earlier, “Under Cover Of Darkness” is commonly mistaken as being about war. It doesn’t help that the phrase ‘under cover of darkness’ is usually referring to military strategy. To be honest, this is what I thought the song was about until I did some more digging. I mean the opening line, “Slip back out of whack at your best, it’s a nightmare, so I’m joining the army” definitely sets your mindset to someone joining the army. What I believe is that he is actually referencing himself being fed up with his bandmates not reconciling their differences. I feel like he is really saying, “Why don’t I just go join the army? You guys aren’t doing anything to make me want to stay here”. The line right after this one, “We got the righteous advice to use it, got everything but you can just choose it, I won’t just be a puppet on a string” can also be taken in a military sense, but I believe he is referring to the large following they have and the influence acquired through that. “Got everything but you can just choose it, I won’t just be a puppet on a string” to me, Casablancas is saying, “We have this fan base we can use, rather than starting from the bottom again with our solo work. I don’t want to be a ‘puppet on a string’ for record labels.” He knew together as a group they could make their own decisions rather than a record label making decisions for them.

The Strokes have definitely had up’s and down’s on their journey as a band, but what has never been down, is their cult following. They continue today to generally only play festivals because of the large crowds they produce. I feel that “Under Cover Of Darkness” was a type of therapy for them and their fans. They may have settled their differences privately, but them being musicians playing music is how they truly express their emotions. It was also a way of letting their fans know that everything is okay and that more music is on the way. As well as them telling themselves, we got through that rough patch, let’s keep doing what we do best together. However you choose to interpret their music, you cannot deny their talent and we should all be glad they were able to settle their differences and continue writing incredible music for the masses.