The album begins with an eerie ten seconds which keeps the listener on edge, unsure of what is to come. Then, “Out of the Blue” explodes with a Strokes-like force that reassures you: all will be well. The song itself meanders along Julian’s existence, as if his whole musical life were flashing before him. But instead of blubbering some ambiguous stream of consciousness, his lyrics are crisp, well formulated and demanding recognition. Long gone are the days of hiding behind cryptic messages. This is Julian’s voice, in every sense of the word.
Phrazes for the Young continues with catchy songs, and Julian uses every instrument to its ultimate potential. He doesn’t have flashy solos or ominous bass lines, he just has the musical equivalent of eloquence gushing from his hands and feet and kisses.
It has a little bit of everything, from a deliciously soulful “4 Chords of the Apocalypse” to the electrifying “River of Brakelights” (a song that will leave you dizzy for sure) and even a country ballad called “Ludlow St” which eulogizes the past and cynically proclaims the inevitable bleakness of the future.
Ironically enough, this album is the ultimate futuristic record: it relies heavily on synths and consistently references better things to come. “Forgive them, even if they are not sorry”, Julian sings. Strokes fans might be reassured that this wise, sober, musically omnipotent higher being will be the much needed glue for the future of the band.
Phrazes for the Young ends with a couple of exquisitely intoxicating songs, concluding with just as much of a whirlwind bang as the opener--just in completely different musical territory.
In the end, we can all rest assured that the world’s greatest songwriter has not lost his Midas touch.
Damn good album.
5/5
buy it on AMAZON, vinyl or cd (I'm getting both)
Julian Casablancas - Out of the Blue [mp3]
12 comments:
Midas touch, haha. Great review, Hanan.
Fabulous review Hanan, I agree with everything. Has anyone ever told you you'd make a great art-historian?
Ok so excuse my ignorance but I need to ask, does vinyl actually yield better sound quality? Because they seem to be really trendy again over here, but I'm confused as to whether that's everyone trying to be retro or actually being fussy about music quality.
Good review, agree on most stuff. But "the world's greatest songwriter"? I mean really? There's so many others that have surpassed him, he is unarguably one of the best, but definitely not THE best.
yet another eloquent review; i totally second out of the blue being a fav.
Bravo on the review, love it!
Not just because I'm a massive Julian/Strokes fan, it's just a genuinely good review!
Great review Hanan I fucking loved the record I don't care what anyone says... (See- http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13666-phrazes-for-the-young/ )
Hanan why have you been depriving us I can't believe I had to find out about this gem from Pitchfork...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csD4ZgMPgvg
FRANCISCO HOLY CRAP I HAVE BEEN FRANTICALLY LOOKING THROUGH ALL OF MY STROKES POSTS, GUILT-RIDDEN AND I FINALLY CAME ACROSS THIS:
http://musicinducedeuphoria.blogspot.com/2009/03/strokes-post-23.html
damn it. I really did feel guilty, because I watch that Take it or Leave it Performance all the time.
I also came across this:
http://musicinducedeuphoria.blogspot.com/2008/05/rolling-stone-rates-greatest-guitar.html
Pitchfork is a load of tosh. most critics love Phrazes.
to anon, greatness is perniciously subjective: there is no way to prove any claim on that account and I only said it because personally, Julian is my favourite songwriter and most people who frequent this site would agree. so I stick with what I wrote. listen to Is This It and try to disagree. or, rather, try to pick the best song. it's impossible, I tell you.
to klein, it's funny, I started collecting RIGHT BEFORE it got really trendy again, and have been accused of being a hipster on many an account because of it. the sound quality really is better, ESPECIALLY older records. but seriously, listening to Strokes records on vinyl sound a lot closer to live sound. it's warmer, if that makes sense. it doesn't, really, until you hear it for yourself. RoF is my favourite to listen to on vinyl. also, you have to sit down and listen to whole albums, which really does bring back the music experience.
I've only had one art history class and one architecture history class so I have no idea why you would say that =)
thanks to everyone who replied =)
Jules' Spaceland show bootleg - check it out.
http://webinfront.net/?p=2783
Ah gracias. I knew you would be able to shed some light on the situation! Maybe I WILL sit down by the fire and put on a Strokes record sometime. PFTY will be my first ever record!! I'm going to hijack my mum's player for it.
Hahahh and as for that oddly out of context Art History comment, that's my major and your style of describing music reminds me of visual artistic commentary. As in, very vivid and descriptive. A good thing :)
Wow. And I was sure you were going to hate it. ;-)
hi every person,
I identified musicinducedeuphoria.blogspot.com after previous months and I'm very excited much to commence participating. I are basically lurking for the last month but figured I would be joining and sign up.
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