Casablancas Jumps Into Future Dimension

After bursting onto the scene in the midst of the garage rock revival of the early 2000s with their hit "Last Nite," The Strokes have had to work hard to avoid the typecasting that hurt the careers of peer groups such as The Hives and The Vines. With his solo debut Phrazes for the Young, the group's lead singer and principal songwriter Julian Casablancas successfully breaks out of the distorted, guitar-driven sound for which he is known and instead relies on synth and drum machine-heavy sonic landscapes to propel his danceable and melodic songs. Produced by Jason Leader with help from Bright Eyes/Monsters of Folk sideman Mike Mogis, the album feels straight out of the 1980s, fusing futuristic pop songs with a format typical of vinyls, containing only eight tracks and spanning just under 40 minutes.

The up-tempo opener "Out of the Blue" sounds the most like The Strokes and offers a transition for The Strokes aficionado getting into Casablancas' solo material by fusing the group's oft-used rhythm guitar sounds and fun melody with the synthesizer leads and dark lyrics that permeate the rest of the album. Casablancas sings, "Yes, I know I'm going to hell in a leather jacket/At least I'll be in another world/While you're pissing on my casket." "Left & Right In The Dark" starts out sounding like the soundtrack to a long-forgotten Sega game, but once the delay-laden guitar creates a groove for Casablancas to sing over, the song starts to succeed, and it assures its place on the album with the long and explosive chorus.

Lead single "11th Dimension" is carried by a cheesy but irresistible synth chord progression that allows Casablancas to live out long-hidden pop star fantasies and pay homage to '80s techno pop groups. As the song progressively builds, and the multi-layered synthesizer madness only gets more interesting, as Casablancas boasts, "Oh I got music coming out of my hands and feet and kisses." The next song, "4 Chords of the Apocalypse," sounds like Ryan Adams wandered into the wrong section of Guitar Center, combining a soulful, electric piano-driven ballad with synthesizer overlays, electric percussion, and a multi-tracked, effect-laden guitar solo. The fusion, however, is tastefully pulled off, and so the song succeeds and never sounds forced.

"Ludlow Street," the album's longest track is an unlikely country-folk song. While the song does not deviate much from the country-music paradigm, with lyrics about drinking, slide guitar, and a banjo, the electronic percussion and spooky, atmospheric intro allow Casablancas' sense of innovation to come through. The next track is the dud, "River of Brakelights," which flirts with the self-indulgent. It has a dark melody that sounds droningly boring at times and includes a brief synth and drum machine solo that reeks of an artist left unsupervised in the studio. "Glass" is also far from an album highlight with its mostly-filler chorus, but relies on dynamic percussion and interesting textures to keep the song afloat. The guitar solo is oddly reminiscent of Ozzy Osbourne era Randy Rhoads; further revealing Casablancas' versatility while providing a welcome bit of variety. Album closer "Tourist" has a sparse yet haunting guitar riff that fits the song's themes of isolation, as Casablancas sings, "I feel like a tourist in the big city/Soon I will simply evaporate." The song's extended musical bridge avoids the self-indulgent by switching between and occasionally blending fast-picked guitar and synthesizers.

Phrazes for the Young is a solid solo effort that offers a serious departure from the garage-rock Casablancas launched his career on. The atmospheric compositions can be dense at times and somewhat kitsch at others, but Casablancas' innate sense of melody carries each song. His strong songwriting is what made The Strokes a great band, and it's what makes Phrazes for the Young successful.