Four fast drum taps, an eerie, wandering keyboard riff and into the world of Julian Casablancas’s new album, “Phrazes for the Young” you go.
“Somewhere along the way, my hopefulness turned to sadness,” are the first lyrics slurred from the mouth of The Strokes front man on his album’s title track “Out of the Blue.”
There are only eight songs on the fast-paced L.P. The run time is slightly more than 40 minutes and the wild, whipping and winding ride from song to song may leave fans in search of the fourth Strokes album a little confused.
Besides the Fabrizio Moretti-esque drumming, the rest of the album is uniquely layered with swarms of keyboards and organs, blistering midi guitar licks and harmonies, all mostly performed by Casablancas himself.
At times it is a Flock of Seagulls-meets-Velvet Underground-and-Iggy Pop dance party, and other times it’s a warp-speed, midnight ride through neon-lit “super cities.”
The album ranges from slow driving ballads like “Glass,” to the steady down-tempo grooving “Tourist,” and “4 Chords of the Apocalypse,” which sounds like a heavier version of Sam Cooke’s “Bring it on Home.”
There are stories of 1624 nightlife, childhood and lost time, philosophy and rebellion, and most prominently, drinking and the struggle of alcoholism.
On “Ludlow St.” Casablancas uses no metaphors to cloak hid drinking problem.
“Everything seems to go wrong when I start drinking/ Everything seemed to go my way last night/ Everything seems so wrong this morning/ I know things will be brighter later on.”
There are also hints that the 31-year-old L.A. recording artist has cleaned up his act. In an interview with The New York Times last month, Casablancas opened up about his alcoholism saying, “I want to casually have a glass of wine or whatever; level-headed adults do. But I can’t.”
“I was a monster,” he said.
Along with the new phase in the life of Casablancas, his refreshing “Phrazes for the Young,” is positive, and seems to be going in the right direction.
This is an album you can rip to your player and bring out to parties with your MGMT and Girl Talk mixes, and still guarantee a satisfied audience of freshmen and super-senior college students alike.
Grade: A