Hear Julian Casablancas + the Voidz’ Wonderfully Bizarre New LP ‘Tyranny’
The last time Julian Casablancas released an album outside of the Strokes, 2009’s Phrazes for the Young, Rolling Stone described it as “his version of Thom Yorke’s The Eraser,” a record featuring “guitars submarined by wild-angled synths, off-kilter beats tripping up big ballads.” “A few songs have the old leather-jacket kick,” Jon Dolan wrote. “But things get weirder as he explores alienation from a Lower East Side he once ruled.”
Having moved upstate, the Strokes frontman is now backed by a band called the Voidz – Jeramy Gritter and Amir Yaghmai on guitar, Jeff Kite on keys, Jake Bercovici on bass and Alex Carapetis on drums – and together, they are ready to release an incredibly eclectic new album, simply titled Tyranny. The LP hits stores Tuesday (and can be pre-ordered at the Cult Records website), but you can listen to an exclusive advance stream of all 12 songs right here. It’s even got some of that old leather-jacket kick.
“Tyranny has come in many forms throughout history,” Casablancas said in a statement, explaining the title. “Now, the good of business is put above anything else, as corporations have become the new ruling body. Most decisions seem to be made like ones of a medieval king: Whatever makes profit while ignoring and repressing the truth about whatever suffering it may cause (like pop music, for that matter).”