Room on Fire

Room on Fire is the second studio album by American rock band the Strokes, released on October 21, 2003, through RCA Records.

The album received positive reviews upon its release and reached number four on the US Billboard 200, where it went on to sell 597,000 units by October 2006[5], earning a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

"[15] A positive review from Rolling Stone said that "the Strokes have resisted the temptation to hit the brakes, grow up and screw around with a sound that doesn't need fixing — yet."

"[23] Greg Milner of Spin gave it a score of eight out of ten and said that its "similarity to its predecessor ultimately bespeaks a purity of vision, not a dearth of new ideas.

Raoul Hernandez of The Austin Chronicle gave the album a score of two stars out of five and stated that "even the half-hearted retreads... cashing in on the notoriously unwashed NYC quintet's debut can't muster a wink.

"[26] Iain Moffat of Playlouder gave the album only one star and said of the Strokes, "There's little of the pop sparkle that shone through the likes of 'The Modern Age' and 'Last Nite' even when - as with 'You Talk Way Too Much' - they're rewriting old material, and Julian's vocals are, to be blunt, awful, sounding uncomfortable to record and rather complacently nasal.

Scoring a 0.1 bonus point more than Is This It, Room on Fire is commended in marking confident progress and "at least partially thwarting rock history's most inevitable backlash.

"[16] The album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 in the US, and was later certified Gold by the RIAA in December 2003,[29][30] and platinum certification for selling over one million units in June 2021.