The New York bred singer will release his first solo album in the US on November 3rd. Known primarily as the front man of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas‘ Phrazes for the Young will surely take him on a new solo career path. What does this mean for The Strokes? Well, they’re already halfway through the making of a new album, their first since the release of First Impressions of Earth in 2006.
After creating a stir in NME magazine about performing solo, and releasing quite the teaser video, Julian put on a show in Tokyo this past August. Footage from the show leaked on the web and disappeared within a couple of days - so you know RCA wanted to keep this album under wraps. We managed to get our hands on an advance copy of Phrazes of the Young. We’ve had it for a solid month now…listening, diverging, going back to it, and letting it all sink in.
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With eight tracks, written and recorded over the last 18 months, the album emotes of something amiss…of an uncertainty within moments of thought and self criticism driven by a nature of unpredictability. Perhaps this is what it means to be young, as suggested by the album’s title, but beyond the stature of age, if being young is a state of mind then Julian certainly delves into it and tells a story that appears to be personal. With lyrics touching on what seems like dilemmas and a sound that plays on a synth-rock delirium, there is the underlying notion of feelings going through the motions of finding one’s way – with sayings that can only translate as “phrazes” or understandings of the young.
Phrazes of the Young may hint that Julian himself has grown up from the expressions of his youthful days. If so, he captures the self-transition of an artist within his work. While on tour in 2005, just before playing the Strokes’ “Hard to Explain,” Julian would announce that he was engaged, and that in itself, it was hard to explain. He is now expecting a baby with his wife in 2010. If these are his learned lessons, then he has captured them in a nice solemn album that delivers some solitude in what seems like a busy and noisy city – until one finds their peace – that is beyond the Phrazes of the Young (like on “Ludlow St.” – a track from the album).
It is typical for someone with a voice as unique as Julian’s to break away to find a sound of his own after the success of the band. Like Thom Yorke and his explorations beyond Radiohead, this is a new bidding for Julian in finding a tone and a story that is all his. An album like this certainly deserves an encore.
Check out “11th Dimension,” and “River of Brakelights” below, along with a video teaser of the album.
Julian Casablancas – “11th dimension“
Julian Casablancas – “River of Brakelights“
Other Recommended Tracks: “Out of the Blue”, “Left & Right in the Dark”, “Ludlow St.”, “Glass”
TRACK LIST
1. “Out of the Blue”
2. “Left & Right in the Dark”
3. “11th Dimension”
4. “4 Chords of the Apocalypse”
5. “Ludlow St.”
6. “River of Brakelights”
7. “Glass”
8. “Tourist”
We don’t want to give it away, but the texts in the teaser read:
Try not to give advice you can’t follow
Drunkenness is cowardice
Sobriety is loneliness
