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Solo effort unfocused, overly electronic
The Advocate
The Strokes front man Julian Casablancas wants to be many things to many people. He wants to meet the expectations put upon him by his critics, he wants to be an icon to his fans, he wants to create a modern, electronic sound, and he wants to be a prolific songwriter. At least that’s what one can gather from his solo effort “Phrazes for the Young.”
After 20 years on this planet, it’s been awhile since I’ve heard an album with this much ADD. While the album kicks off with “Out of the Blue” and enough energy to outshine an 8-year-old bouncing off the walls, it doesn’t do much for me musically. Casablancas is also asking a lot of his listeners, singing frequently, “Why can’t you ignore the things I did before?” He’s asking us to look at him as a stand-alone musician, but is it possible when the electronics that are present throughout the album remind one so much of the Strokes’ third album, “First Impressions of Earth”?
“Left & Right in the Dark” and “11th Dimension” are both radio-ready and extremely catchy. Casablancas is clearly attached to the idea of electronics and modern sound, almost to his detriment. As said, the Strokes’ third album already explored this avenue. I would have liked to see Casablancas take a different, more driven direction.
However, with “4 Chords of the Apocalypse” it’s apparent that this just won’t happen. The song comes out of left field, starting as a ballad, which after three high energy songs is about as welcome as a root canal. Only once the listener’s ears are set to the bittersweet lyrics and quieter tone, they are “treated” to a distorted voice and guitar solos, only to be returned to a ballad. The confusion perpetrated by the song represents the misdirection of the album as a whole. One can only wonder where the album could possibly go?
Thankfully, Casablancas hits his stride with “Ludlow St.” An extremely composed song with fantastic sounds, I can finally figure out where Casablancas was trying to take the album. This song has the focus that every other song before it had been lacking; it is here that I remember just how talented Casablancas is when it comes to songwriting. While the first three songs of the album might be on the radio, this will be on Casablancas’ greatest hits, provided that he makes it to that stage.
“River of Brakelights” isn’t memorable as Casablancas once again falls by the wayside, delving into unnecessary effects.
With “Glass” and “Tourist” though, it seems Casablancas finally grasps that slower might just be better. Both show a reflective side to the aging hipster that he didn’t reveal with the Strokes.
It’s difficult to describe the album as a whole because it is so unfocused. It seems natural that an album would have a unifying concept to link every song, but it’s difficult to find here. The only theme is the sheer disillusionment that Casablancas must be feeling, not only with the music industry but with life in general. This entire discontentment is backed by electronics and synthetic sounds to the point where I have to wonder if Casablancas even knows how to work a soundboard properly. The song arrangement is amateurish at best, and might be acceptable from a novice, but with Casablancas’ history I expected better. And with eight songs, it’s difficult to make excuses for the album, with only half the songs having merit.
It’s hard to listen to an album without a purpose. While I didn’t love the album, I couldn’t hate it either. If someone hugged Casablancas, told him everything was going to be okay and gave him a prescription for Ritalin, things would definitely be looking up.
Rating: 3/5
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