I am confused. I have heard so much about how Julian Casablancas was the driving force (even taskmaster) behind the Strokes’ sound. Rumor had it that he was the dominant songwriter for the band, to the point that the band decided to take the break that they are currently on so that the other Strokes (save for Nick Valensi) could release the music that they had pent up inside of them. This led me to believe that Julian Casablancas’ debut solo album would be an awesome album, re-hashing the best moments from the Strokes’ excellent early records. Boy was I wrong. Let’s work through this. The Strokes have a well defined sound (at least on their first two albums) that is supposedly dictated by Julian Casablancas. The band goes on hiatus and the various members create solo albums that sound a lot like the Strokes sound (which we were led to believe they didn’t have a lot of control over). Then the guy who is supposedly the driving force behind the sound releases his solo album and it is a sea change from that which he is often credited with shaping. Got it? Me neither.

Casablancas made an album that, while featuring some of the late-’70s NYC garage rock guitars that helped his band rise to fame, is a far more synth-driven affair. He has talked about how he wanted to make an album like this and how he was shooting for a sound that would possibly be able to cross over. While I don’t think you will be hearing this alongside pop garbage like Owl City, hearing Casablancas over poppy, bright synths was still a jarring experience the first time I heard it. Phrazes for the Young starts out with a somewhat familiar sound, with “Out of the Blue” bursting out of the gate with frenzied, driving Strokes-like guitars and Casablancas singing about his trials and tribulations. You first hear the new sound with “Left and Right in the Dark,” with its dark electronic flourishes. The theme is continued with the first song released from the disc, the anthemic “11th Dimension.” While I found myself thinking I didn’t like the song at first, it has turned into one of the few which I keep returning to on the record. It is the most buoyant, funky song that Casablancas has lent his lackadaisical pipes to yet, with a massive sound, a soaring melody and stabbing synth lines that make it the highlight of the 40 minute album.

Things slow down with the ballad “4 Chords of the Apocalypse.” I read a while back that Casablancas was a big Sam Cooke fan, and you can hear him attempting to capture such timeless soul on the song. The album hits its first big speed bump with the next two tracks, “Ludlow St.” and “River of Brakelights.” “Ludlow St.” is an electronic country shuffle that finds Casablancas singing a “crying in my beer” type song that really falls flat. “River of Brakelights” starts off with what sounds like video game sound effects before plodding forward with an abrasive and clunking electronic backdrop. “Glass” is a pretty, swelling song that, while being a tad long, is a strong, dramatic ballad. The disc wraps up with the sad lament of “Tourist,” which finds Casablancas singing sorrowfully about urban sprawl and the places he used to know. The song mixes programmed beats with some guitar stabs that add to the flair of the track. He sings that he feels “Like a tourist in the big city” and that “Soon I’ll evaporate.” It is a dark and brooding track that offers a strong end to the album.

In the end, the most Strokes-sounding side project was a record was sung by a guy who wasn’t even in the band, while the group’s “leader” released what ended up being the most left field release yet from any of the band members. It will be interesting to see how the next Strokes record sounds now that we know that their fearless leader really just wants to make synth pop. While I can firmly say that I hope this isn’t the direction the Strokes go, Phrazes for the Young is a strong statement by an artist who clearly isn’t afraid to take chances. Hopefully when the band members all finish scratching their collective solo album itches, the group can get back together and get us another classic album like Is This It. Judging by the sounds of the solo album from their frontman however, that may be wishful thinking.

Julian Casablancas “11th Dimension” (mp3)

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Also: The Strokes “Is This It” (Best of the Decade)