The Strokes are rapidly becoming a better-dressed, indie-rock version of Bill Belichick. Like Coach Hoodie’s many disciples now also head-coaching in the NFL, the leather-clad New York outfit has spawned albums from four of its five original members, two having joined bands and two going it alone. The most recent of these is frontman Julian Casablancas with his solo debut, Phrazes for the Young, and it’s the best Strokes-affiliated release since 2003’s Room on Fire.
Casablancas was the primary creative mind behind two Strokes classics, Room on Fire and its predecessor Is This It. Phrazes is the successful iteration of what he appeared to be going for with the band’s third album, First Impressions of Earth, an unfocused and overblown experimental divergence.
On Phrazes, Casablancas has packed in the maximum amount of sound per square inch. Every second is stuffed with ’80s synths, hand claps, drum machine, organic percussion, electric and processed guitars and Casablancas’ cocky wail. Opener “Out of the Blue” laces an electric take on gospel organ into a more conventional rhythm guitar. “River of Brakelights” rides a flurry of drum machine and fuzzy guitar into a soaring chorus that perfectly evokes the song’s title. And “Tourist” ends with horns sprouting up between beeps and bass like grass from cracks in the sidewalk.
The songs’ biggest flaw is that they’re almost all overly long, but there are worse problems for such enjoyable music to have. Casablancas’ lyrics speak to themes of urban alienation, and his vocal performance is dexterous and forceful.
And single “11th Dimension” is blistering work, a disco cut that wrenches Casablancas back into modern music. It’s about time: personality like this is always more than welcome.
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