To paraphrase The Tragically Hip, a couple of years ago when most of his bandmates started splintering off from The Strokes and starting their own solo and side projects (drummer Fabrizio Moretti formed Little Joy, Albert Hammond Jr. has released two solo albums now, and bassist Nikolai Fraiture co-founded Nickel Eye) singer Julian Casablancas must have started getting nervous. He didn't want to get ditched and, besides, what good is a rock singer without a band at his ready disposal? With such a weight on his mind, he must have cracked and uttered those defeated words, “Fuck it – if they've all gone, I'll go too,” and begun assembling a solo endeavor as well – the results of which now see the light of day in Phrazes For The Young. As one listens, the truth about the source of The Strokes drive begins to present itself; while Phrazes For The Young is not a Strokes album, there are plenty of the staple sounds and motifs that then band has been using since Is This It? behind the wheel.
With a very clean and speedy up and down stroke, Casablancas jumps forward with that laissez-faire off-the-cuff ease that won The Strokes so many fans right from the very beginning of “Out Of The Blue” and sets a very same-y tone for the album that The Strokes have built, with the only notable difference being extra keyboards. It's not what anyone could mistake for an epiphany-inducing moment, but repeated listens reveal that it's the hands-down winner for the best lyrics the singer has ever offered (the transition and transference of hard feelings is fantastic) and, as songs including “Left & Right In The Dark,” “4 Chords Of The Apocalypse” and “River Of Brakelights” roll out, that turns out to be the tie that binds the songs; comfort zone chord changes are slowed to mid-tempo by Strokes standards, additional electronics have been added to cover any perceived divots in the proceedings and it's all topped with the best, strongest and most mature lyrics Casablancas has ever written. In “4 Chords Of The Apocalypse” the singer slows down an easy soul blues to lament the loss of a lover, but the lyric sheet itself is the real story because it demonstrates a heart that has never been apparent in Strokes songs. Likewise, “Ludlow Street” issues some strong world music chops creeping around the edges of a faux country ballad and “River Of Brakelights” outlines a holy modal nightmare that elevates levels of terror and tension effortlessly. In each case, some listeners might be non-plussed by these radical developments in musicianship; presuming it to be the result of some assistance from a particularly able producer bleeding through. While, yes, producers Jay Lader and Mike Mogis do play on as well as mould the finished music, the largest hand in the proceedings is Casablancas' as he proves to be a most versatile multi-instrumentalist here.
As the swaggering, sardonic beat of “Tourist” begins to fade out and close the album, listeners will certainly be left in disbelief at what they've just heard from Phrazes For The Young. In these eight tracks, Julian Casablancas has removed all doubt that his here-to-fore unpromoted compositional ability is far sharper than anyone could have assumed and those that might have walked into this album expecting to hear an elaborate and fashionable representation of nothing will be forced to eat their words. Phrazes For The Young is a classic illustration of a diamond being polished out of the rough.
Artist:
www.juliancasablancas.com/
www.myspace.com/juliancasablancas
Download:
Julian Casablancas – “11th Dimension” – Phrazes For The Young
Album:
Phrazes For The Young comes out on November 3, 2009. Pre-order it here on Amazon .
