Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Heather Laird |
After four years of laying low while other members of The Strokes were working on their side projects, Julian Casablancas reemerges with Phrazes for the Young, enlisting the help of producer Jason Lader (Maroon 5) and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes).
Phrazes For The Young has a lot of ideas, dangerously compacted into 8 relentless tracks. Casablancas progresses through the songs switching between angry, mopey and dopey, not settling on any of them. The album explores a variety of different sounds, but is rooted in the same basic ideas. Monotonous vocals, bouncy melodies, videogame-like percussion and guitar, and repetitive and odd lyrics all add up to an intriguing but ultimately disappointing result.
‘Ludlow St.’ is the strangest (and best) song here, as it takes you on a drunken stroll through the New York streets of the Lower East Side. “Everything seems to go wrong when I stop drinking / Everything seemed to go my way last night / Everything seems so wrong to me this morning / I know things will be brighter later tonight.” Definitely phrases for the young, or somebody who has their tail between their legs.
What happened to the once-idolized rock star that was Julian Casablances? This 31 year old seems unsure of himself. “We’re going nowhere. We’re going there fast.”
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