The Strokes are an American rock ban formed in 1998 that rose to fame in the early 2000s as a leading group in the garage rock revival. The band consists of Julian Casablancas (lead vocals, songwriting), Nick Valensi (lead guitar), Albert Hammond Jr. (rhythm guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass guitar) and Fabrizio Moretti (drums and percussion). Upon the release of their debut album Is This It in 2001, the group was met with much critial acclaim. NME made Is This It their Album of the Year. Since then, the band has maintained a large fan base, notably in the UK, US and Australia.