The Strokes’ Nick Valensi and his band CRX confront loneliness and alienation head on in their new song, “We’re All Alone.” The track marks the first single off the band’s upcoming album, Peek, out August 23rd.
In a statement, CRX guitarist Darian Zahedi said “We’re All Alone” came out of a desire to “do something hypnotic as fuck.” The song boasts a thumping new wave groove peppered with an array of synths and angular guitar riffs that wobble without losing any sense of melody. During the chorus, Valensi croons with a sweet bite, “Before all our time gets wasted, make up your mind/Put down the phone, and face it/We’re all alone.”
Peek marks CRX’s second album, following their 2016 debut, New Skin. The album was recorded by the band’s new lineup, which includes Zahedi, bassist Jon Safley, drummer Ralph Alexander and keyboardist Brad Oberhofer.
CRX wrote the songs on Peek during sessions at Valensi’s home and a rehearsal space in downtown Los Angeles. The band primarily recorded the LP at NRG studios with producer Shane Stoneback, while they also cut tracks at Chromeo’s studio and Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica.
The recording was very different, because we made a big deal of tracking it as live as possible,” Zahedi said. “We also let go and embraced some of these really cool influences that took us into the stratosphere. It was a combination of writing for over a year, getting out of our heads, and knowing what we wanted to sound like.”