Anyone worried about the Strokes being rusty going into their upcoming fourth album—the bandNs been on hiatus for a while—should keep in mind just how active the guys have been in other projects. Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. released two sublime solo albums, drummer Fabrizio Moretti scored raves for his role in the tropicalia-flecked trio Little Joy, and now bassist Nikolai Fraiture is getting in on the action with Nickel Eye; a creepy, creeping project using the British group South as his backing band. Regina Spektor and the Yeah Yeah YeahsN Nick Zinner stop by on his album, The Time Of The Assassins, but for the most part itNs a skeletal, near-gothic affair that finds Fraiture intoning lyrics in a hypnotic, Leonard Cohen-worthy drone.
Sat., Jan. 31, 8 p.m., 2009
