Take it or leave it

For the past few days I have been going through my ipod, organizing, deleting etc. I have come across some bands I love but haven't heard much from recently. Case in point, The Strokes. The Strokes first two records Is This It and Room on Fire were each excellent and refreshingly organic. They sound almost exactly the same live, no fancy production, no enhanced vocals, nothing. Is This It was a very significant record culturally as well as musically. The record was released in 2001 and opened up the musical landscape for many other New York hipster garage rock acts. 2001 was also deep into the teen pop craze so they certainly had a big hand at reviving rock. Spin Magazine began a love affair with the band around that time and rightly so. Their debut was so acclaimed it was almost impossible for them to top it, and Room on Fire may not have topped it but it was a logical progression in their sound. A few years later they released First Impressions of Earth (2006 I think? Not entirely sure though, I know I reviewed it when I was a senior in high school). First Impressions of Earth in my opinion is their weakest record. My problem is that the lyrical direction is no longer appealing, there is no sense of longing or the "don't give a fuck" attitude Julian Casablancas always sang with. Also the music itself just didn't strike the right chord with me. The record surely isn't bad in any sense it just didn't make sense coming after Room on Fire. "You Only Live Once" is an excellent song, as is "Heart In A Cage". The band took a break for the last year or so and will be coming together early next year to write and record their 4th record. Singer Julian Casablancas is the primary songwriter but as the band progresses other members have contributed more to the sound which may be the reason First Impressions of Earth was so disjointed and sonically confusing. Hopefully they will be able to come together and find a cohesive sound, and also find some sort of lyrical inspiration.
To get an idea of what I write listen to some of these...

"The Modern Age" -Is This It
"Someday"-Is This It
"Hard to Explain"-Is This It

"What Ever Happened?"-Room on Fire
"12:51"-Room on Fire
"Under Control"-Room on Fire

"You Only Live Once"-First Impressions of Earth
"Heart in a Cage"-First Impressions of Earth
"Electricityscape"-First Impressions of Earth