New Vibrations: Julian Casablancas
Phrazes for the Young
The Strokes have been, for the time being, going their separate ways in recent years, around the time of their last release, 2006's First Impressions of Earth.
Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. garnered attention and acclaim for his two pop-rock albums, Yours to Keep and Como Te Llama.
Drummer Fabrizio Moretti and bassist Nikolai Fraiture have kept relatively quiet with their respective side projects, Little Joy and Nikel Eye.
The lead guitarist Nick Valensi has presumably been busy raising his twins and participating in occasional collaborations with the likes of Devandra Banhart and Regina Spektor. Left over is Julian Casablancas, chief songwriter and lead singer.
His solo debut Phrazes For The Young, which borrows its title from Oscar Wilde's Phrases and Philosophies for the Young, manages to be both reminiscent of his work with The Strokes and something entirely different.
For starters, all the songs possess a heavy electronic undercurrent with beats, synthesizers and distortions, lending them a somewhat power pop-rock feel.
Casablancas goes far in pushing his musical boundaries, with the album's closing track, "Tourist," invoking almost Middle Eastern inspired strings. It is a small album, comprised of only seven tracks.
However, all but one go past the five-minute mark, another departure from the terse nature of the earliest Strokes' songs.
In a lot of ways, Phrazes is a more successful version of the experimental album Casablancas was aiming to achieve with First Impressions.
The latter was an unexpected shift for The Strokes, especially considering that many pundits considered "Is This It" and "Room on Fire" to be two sides of the same coin.
First Impressions slowed the tempo with its fair share of ballads that had Casablancas grasping for lyrical straws such as "I've got nothing to say." These arguably low points on First Impressions have been re-imagined and recreated by Casablancas for the better in Phrazes.
The opening of "Chords of the Apocalypse" in fact sounds quite similar to "15 Minutes" but instead of droning on, Casablancas plays to his strength with a quicker tempo.
Though there is a definite and positive alteration in the musicality of Phrazes, Casablancas's lyrics retain a similar thematic nature to his work as The Strokes' front man.
He appears to have some odd fascination with Native Americans and their relation to time. In "Ludlow St," an ode to the gentrification and nightlife of the Lower East Side street, Casablancas sings, "It started back in 1624/ The Lenape tribes would soon get forced from their home/ Soon we'll all get pushed out now."
Throughout the album, more so than ever, we see to what extent the transitory nature of time is plaguing Casablancas, in songs such as "River of Break Lights" and "Chords of the Apocalypse."
He's also constantly preoccupied with people's perceptions such as in "Left Right in the Dark," the album opener.
And there is of course Julian the Romantic, protective of his lover in the excellent ballad, "Glass."
On the whole Phrazes for the Young is a very successful excursion for The Strokes' front man.All of the songs, with the exception of "River of Breaklights," which I found to drag, are very strong.
Casablancas has struck a balance between the familiar and the experimental - warming to a more electronic New Order/Joy Division influenced sound, while still writing the same simple but effective lyrics. This is the album that First Impressions of Earth wanted to be, but was too self-conscious to do so.
Shedding his band and the expectations of the collective greatly benefited Casablancas in his production.
He seems to be aware of this, as the "Ludlow St." refrain goes "While I surrendered my ego you fed yours/ All my fantasies died when you said yours/I have dangled my pride to forget yours/ Will my mind be at ease when I get yours?/ We'll find out, soon enough." Hopefully, it will be at ease and Julian can get back to the roots of his sound with The Strokes.
Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. garnered attention and acclaim for his two pop-rock albums, Yours to Keep and Como Te Llama.
Drummer Fabrizio Moretti and bassist Nikolai Fraiture have kept relatively quiet with their respective side projects, Little Joy and Nikel Eye.
The lead guitarist Nick Valensi has presumably been busy raising his twins and participating in occasional collaborations with the likes of Devandra Banhart and Regina Spektor. Left over is Julian Casablancas, chief songwriter and lead singer.
His solo debut Phrazes For The Young, which borrows its title from Oscar Wilde's Phrases and Philosophies for the Young, manages to be both reminiscent of his work with The Strokes and something entirely different.
For starters, all the songs possess a heavy electronic undercurrent with beats, synthesizers and distortions, lending them a somewhat power pop-rock feel.
Casablancas goes far in pushing his musical boundaries, with the album's closing track, "Tourist," invoking almost Middle Eastern inspired strings. It is a small album, comprised of only seven tracks.
However, all but one go past the five-minute mark, another departure from the terse nature of the earliest Strokes' songs.
In a lot of ways, Phrazes is a more successful version of the experimental album Casablancas was aiming to achieve with First Impressions.
The latter was an unexpected shift for The Strokes, especially considering that many pundits considered "Is This It" and "Room on Fire" to be two sides of the same coin.
First Impressions slowed the tempo with its fair share of ballads that had Casablancas grasping for lyrical straws such as "I've got nothing to say." These arguably low points on First Impressions have been re-imagined and recreated by Casablancas for the better in Phrazes.
The opening of "Chords of the Apocalypse" in fact sounds quite similar to "15 Minutes" but instead of droning on, Casablancas plays to his strength with a quicker tempo.
Though there is a definite and positive alteration in the musicality of Phrazes, Casablancas's lyrics retain a similar thematic nature to his work as The Strokes' front man.
He appears to have some odd fascination with Native Americans and their relation to time. In "Ludlow St," an ode to the gentrification and nightlife of the Lower East Side street, Casablancas sings, "It started back in 1624/ The Lenape tribes would soon get forced from their home/ Soon we'll all get pushed out now."
Throughout the album, more so than ever, we see to what extent the transitory nature of time is plaguing Casablancas, in songs such as "River of Break Lights" and "Chords of the Apocalypse."
He's also constantly preoccupied with people's perceptions such as in "Left Right in the Dark," the album opener.
And there is of course Julian the Romantic, protective of his lover in the excellent ballad, "Glass."
On the whole Phrazes for the Young is a very successful excursion for The Strokes' front man.All of the songs, with the exception of "River of Breaklights," which I found to drag, are very strong.
Casablancas has struck a balance between the familiar and the experimental - warming to a more electronic New Order/Joy Division influenced sound, while still writing the same simple but effective lyrics. This is the album that First Impressions of Earth wanted to be, but was too self-conscious to do so.
Shedding his band and the expectations of the collective greatly benefited Casablancas in his production.
He seems to be aware of this, as the "Ludlow St." refrain goes "While I surrendered my ego you fed yours/ All my fantasies died when you said yours/I have dangled my pride to forget yours/ Will my mind be at ease when I get yours?/ We'll find out, soon enough." Hopefully, it will be at ease and Julian can get back to the roots of his sound with The Strokes.
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