In the first half of the aughts, it wouldn’t have been ridiculous to say that the media compared 80% of New York bands to the Strokes. The comparison was inevitable; the Strokes were too mysterious, too infectious and too cripplingly cool not to be pegged as the musical embodiment of the city and the time. Ultimately, it was unfair, and ultimately, it’s only logical that Phrazes for the Young, Julian Casablancas’ solo debut, will also be held to this bygone standard. This will never be the Strokes’ fourth album, but Casablancas takes advantage of this potentially damaging fact.
Considered in its own right, Casablancas’s debut is a solid album, despite its blatant inferiority to The Strokes’ early work. Phrazes is more soulful than any of the singer’s old stuff; Casablancas channels middle age angst on songs like “4 Chords of the Apocalypse” and “Ludlow St.” For anyone familiar with The Strokes’ extensive catalog, this album can be mind-bending at times; hearing Casablancas’s voice over music that sounds like it was made in 1986 is difficult to wrap your head around. His offbeat choice of genre works, though, because he brilliantly contrasts his crooning with synthy blips.
Songs like “Left and Right in the Dark” hold their own not because of musical originality, but because of Casablancas’s lyricism, which hasn’t faltered since he was a 23-year-old pub-crawler just a few years ago. “Glass” and “River of Brakelights,” on the other hand, are propelled by driving synths. The album finishes at its highest point; “Tourist” viciously layers guitar riffs, synth lines and horns to achieve a Radiohead-like eclecticism. At its worst, Phrazes of the Young is lamer than the Strokes, but at its best, it’s something very different.
Julian Casablancas Phrazes for the Young Sounds Like: The Strokes plus a time machine Sounds Best When: You want soul, but you burned through the Ray Charles discography 99-Cent Budget Choice: "Touris"
