I’ve always been of the opinion that Nick Valensi didn’t do a solo project because his identity as the cooler-than-cool lead guitarist in one of the world’s best band was enough. Albert, Nikolai and Julian all had things to prove with their solo records — Albert and Nikolai had to prove their worth and Julian had to prove he could leave The Strokes if things didn’t change — but I never felt like it made sense for Nick to make a solo record.
In Pitchfork‘s story about The Strokes, Nick opens up about how he felt about the side projects…
“I’m not a huge supporter of side/solo stuff. I’m of the opinion that you’re in a band and that’s what you do. If there’s leftover material and time, then sure, by all means. But if you’re playing material that you haven’t even shown to your main band and you’re just sort of keeping it for yourself, I’m not a big fan of that.”
As the side projects were being toured and worked on, Nick was frank with Pitchfork.
“I remember reading a review of First Impressions in SPIN and they mentioned in their review that it sounded like the last Strokes album. At the time, I took offense. But, in hindsight, they were so close to the truth. I’m not even sure we’re going to make a fourth album at this point.”
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