Phrazes For The Young
A few weeks ago I posted about Julian Casablancas’ first single, ‘11th Dimension’, from his upcoming solo debut. I recently reviewed the entire album for Popwreckoning, which I will post below. I’ll leave out the parts I wrote in the post here.
“Phrazes for the Young” takes its name from a piece of writing by Oscar Wilde, entitled “Phrases and Philosophies For The Use of The Young”. Another synth flavored track for the ears is “Left & Right In The Dark” that initially sounds like a re working of 80s Rod Stewart (think “Young Turks”). It continues in Casablancas’ laconic style and is probably one of the catchiest/FM styled songs on the album, particularly when he elevates his chords to yell, “Wake up, wake up, wake up…”. Album opener “Out of the Blue” starts with familiar guitar strumming and a quick speed, aided and abetted with a New Wave shimmer. What drives the compactness of the song is Casablancas’ disaffected and candid words, “At least I’ll be in another world / While you’re pissing on my casket”.
And those tracks are about as close as its going to get to sounding like The Strokes, which only cements Casablancas’ creativity, signaling signs of his bravery to try anything new and diversify his sound. This is best evidenced on “Ludlow St”, that features a melody based on country, showcasing steel guitars, shuffling percussion, and interestingly enough, Asian melodies, all of which create an image of a slow walking, drawling Western, as Casablancas recalls the history of the Lower East Side in New York, the area that was the biggest receptacle of his band’s music. “4 Chords of the Apocalypse” is a large shift in musical style for Casablancas, in that it’s a slow and contemplative ballad. It’s a pleasant surprise to see his vocals fit around a different musical aesthetic than what we are used to. His faded and stretched words go a long agreeably to music that inspires the same emotions.
And so perhaps many of us have been longing for a new Strokes album and thus the release of the lead singer’s first solo work might signal a further delay, at least we have it confirmed from his own project that Julian Casablancas has plenty of creativity and talent in him to continue making music with and if called for, without, his band. “Phrazes For The Young” showcases a diversity few would expect from this man, yet a diversity that is more than welcomed on the ears.
Julian Casablancas - Out Of The Blue
Julian Casablancas - Left & Right In The Dark
