Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for The Young Review

Posted by Paul Schofield on 11.05.2009

The Strokes' frontman goes it alone, but on first impressions is his room on fire, or is this it?

Julian Casablancas. Lead singer of The Strokes, savior of modern rock, and all round American good guy. Well, other than the heavy drinking and drug taking, and general other rock frontman shenanigans that comes with the job. But there is no denying the impact that this man and his bandmates have had on this decade. And like the best musicians of their time, their music was first appreciated here in England. I love Blighty. First Hendrix, now this. Hey, every review needs pics, right? So for the girls, and the men out there, you know who you are, here is Julian at his best.







Wait a minute, do girls read 411? I mean, there is so much content available for them here, like the MMA section, the wrestling section, the Kim Kardashian section… what do you mean, it’s called Movies/TV?!

While The Strokes are on hiatus, Albert Hammond Jr has released his own music, and now it’s our Jules turn. In the band he oozes cool, charisma, and machismo. Chico. But now he’s on his own, doing his own thing. Seeing as he is chief songwriter for the band, doing it his way shouldn’t be a problem, right? Right? After three albums of unrivaled success, can Jules survive on his own? Will he pull a Frasier, or will he be Babe: Pig In The City? And more importantly, will it sound just like another Strokes album? Can he add to his ever growing canon? In the possible words of Hilary Clinton, “Let’s do this shit.” Insert album cover for “Phrazes For The Young!”



Pretty isn’t it? Very Strokesy, and see he’s not on his own, he has a dog for company. All is well. Insert track listing!

1. "Out of the Blue" 4:41
2. "Left & Right in the Dark" 4:54
3. "11th Dimension"
4:03
4. "4 Chords of the Apocalypse" 4:59
5. "Ludlow St." 5:42
6. "River of Brakelights" 5:08
7. "Glass" 5:20
8. "Tourist" 5:02

Pretty isn’t it? Only 8 tracks, there are three iTunes bonus tracks, but seeing as I don’t have iTunes I am unable to form an opinion. Which sucks, as “I Wish It Was Christmas Today” sounds like a Christmas song that wouldn’t be awful. Oh God, it’s nearly that time of year again. The minute I hear Slade I’m punching someone in the collarbone.

Anyone who has read my reviews before knows that I am big on opening tracks. “Out Of The Blue” is a solid opening track. Phew. Yes it is Strokes-esque, but there is a more playful tone at hand, despite the somewhat sinister lyrics. “Yes, I know I'm goin' to hell in a leather jacket/At least I'll be in another world while you're pissin' on my casket.” Lyrically it’s a wonder, it’s extremely introspective, but somewhat off against the almost jaunty music. It’s still a solid track, but it just seems a little odd. “Left & Right In The Dark” is synth-led, like almost everything else seems to be these days, and with the handclap drums it’s particularly joyful sounding. In fact it’s damn right jovial. It’s enough to raise a smile out of someone who never smiles. Jennifer Connelly. She’s made a career out of being miserable in every single thing she’s done. She’s a good example. Hot too. No pics though, sorry boys. Really good track though, definitely a keeper.

“11th Dimension” is again uplifting, and if this is the tone for the whole album it can only be a good thing. “I live on the frozen surface of a fireball/Where cities come together, to hate each other in the name of sport.” Were truer words ever spoken? The chorus especially is a riot, the most Strokes-like so far, and there seem to be a number of different things going on this song, but it’s never too much to deal with. It’s also another really good song. No wonder it was chosen as the lead single. Here’s a fan’s video for it.



“4 Chords Of The Apocalypse” is a slower effort, except for the chorus which kicks up a gear, but for the most part it’s fairly relaxed and simple. It perhaps doesn’t succeed as well as the songs before it, but it is variety, which is the spice of life after all. “Ludlow St” is like futuristic country, which may or may not be as bad as you imagine. It’s at heart a drinking song, possibly a product from Jules’ time spent in rehab, but in parts it’s the first time that there seems to be problems. If the preceding song proved that less is more, this only proves that more is less. For some reason an annoying drum machine beat is thrown in where it isn’t needed, and it seems totally out of place, especially when the normal drums were functioning just fine on their own. It’s a minor detail, but when the song isn’t a great song, it’s the smaller details that hold it back.

“River Of Brake Lights” might as well be a shotgun to the face following the two songs before it. Following a moody intro, it accelerates like a Ferrari off the lights into a tempo that doesn’t relent until a video game style blast interrupts proceedings. I’m not sure that it’s completely needed, and where the hooks of the earlier songs worked, these now look like the ones that were thrown at the wall and didn’t stick. Again it’s a shame, as the basic song is very good, and lyrically it’s strong again. “Mothers crying at the airport/Fighting the dreams you left behind to do/Waving goodbye, your young heart cries for you.” It might be a touch poetic, but they are lyrics that work, and if wasn’t for the early indiscretions, this song would be awesome. Have a listen, see what you think.



“Glass” is again synth led, and simpler, but isn’t strong enough on its own to survive without any killer hooks. Final song “Tourist” is much improved though, probably because it’s mostly guitar led, except for the chorus which is synths but with much more imagination than has previously been displayed. There’s even a brass section that is nothing but excellent, and really adds to the song. It’s a great way to finish the album, but it can’t quite save the overall album.

The 411: There are some real standout moments on this album; the first four songs are high quality, the final song is superb, and each song does have moments of genius. However, in some songs these moments are only sporadic, leaving the remainder of the track to sink or swim. It is a different sounding album to a Strokes product, which is probably due to Julian’s style of writing music, doing it all on keyboards first before he hands it over to his bandmates to finish off with their own parts, particularly Albert it would seem, but here there is no handoff, and maybe that is what this album is lacking. There is no questioning the songwriting or the talent, but there is something missing that perhaps wouldn’t be missing from a Strokes record. Saying that, if the better parts of this record turned up on the next Strokes album, it wouldn’t be any worse off for it.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]