Julian Casablancas + The Voidz - Tyranny ALBUM REVIEW 

I can not overstate how much Human Sadness is deserving of the recognition as one of the most important tracks of this current decade.

It always makes me happy when Anthony comments on how he liked Angles. Me too, buddy. Me too.

I love this album. It sounds like the inside of a fucked-up self-aware android. It makes you feel things maaan.

THIS IS A FUCKING MASTERPIECE, JULIAN'S LYRICS ARE SO INTELLIGENT AND MYSTERIOUS, I SEE JULIAN VERY DEPRESSING RIGHT HERE, GUITAR SOLOS ARE FUCKING STRANGE BUT FUCKING AWESOME TOO, JULIAN MADE ME LOOK THE MUSIC A DIFFERENT WAY, ALL THIS SONGS ARE BEAUTIFUL, JULIAN INVENTED A NEW GENRE 9/10

The only downside to 'Tyranny' would be the nearly indiscernible lyrics. Whoever's the first person to interpret an accurate account of "Nintendo Blood" deserves a doctorate. I agree with the review, although I kinda like the low key/cold second half of the album-- I thought it was a nice contrast to the aggressive first half.

like you said "Julian Casablancas is too mainstream to be accepted for fans of experimental music" (i hate pretentious hipsters for that) and at the same time fans of The Strokes didn't like it because they wanted to hear catchy choruses and all that, that is why this album is not that good for some people, solid review, Anthony!

Human Sadness is my favourite track of all time, tied with Pink Floyd's Pigs, and Echoes. Always find myself listening to it at least twice a week. The other tracks on the record are quite good too, standouts for me being Dare I Care, Father Electricity, Crunch Punch, and Where No Eagles Fly.

Completely disagree : Xerox and Dare I Care are 2 of my favourite tracks.

This album is easily a strong 9/light 10 for me

Honestly, I liked the longer tracks more than I liked the shorter ones. I honestly felt that when the long tracks ended I didn't really want them to stop, especially "Human Sadness." And personally "Dare I Care" and "Father Electricity" are two of the most interesting songs I have ever listened to in my life.

Excellent review! I'm leaning closer to 8 or 9/10. Not only is it entertaining with its musical variety, it is overflowing with ideas. There is plenty to dwell on, to pull apart, to analyze. I'm still piecing it together. However, some of the distortions make reading the lyrics almost mandatory. Some of it is hard to understand, but not in a bad way. *Tyranny* is a worthy successor to *Phrazes* *for* *the* *Young*.

Man this album is amazing, but how did u not like Dare I Care's vocals?? some of my favorite on the album along with Nintendo blood . great review as always though. I'm also pretty sure no one at P4K gave the album a full listen at all, so thank u

I loved this album. It's actually one of my favorite albums... like, ever! It's super deep, and the lyrics really spoke to me on a personal level. I loved everything about it.

I've been listening to Human Sadness many, many times a week since it came out, and at first, pretty much every day. I'm hooked, and I've been trying to find more things like it, but it is very unique.

Julianthony Voidtano

Comedown Machine is so underrated.

it's the most self-indulgent album ever. it was really good though

I think this album is fascinating and really, really good. I would say it's Julian Casablancas' best record since Is This It.

Glad to see you enjoyed this album. I've been listening to it constantly. Human Sadness took a few listens to click with me, but now currently it comes on every other song during my daily agenda. Father Electricity is also a real funky jam.

4:42 To quote Julian Casablancas " Leave me alone, I'm in control".

2:24 "Each moment was more interesting than the next"

I LOVED THIS ALBUM. many people say its raw and not meant to sound beautiful but i found it to be one of the most beautiufk albums ive heard in the longest time

I think Dare I Care, Human Sadness, Crunch Punch, and Father of Electricity are the top dogs of this album. They have the most vocal and musical appeal to me.

To be honest, I had mixed feelings at first, which was hard to admit as I'm a die-hard fan of Julian and The Strokes, but this really grew on me. It'll probably take time for some people to get into this album. However, it really is worth it. For example, the little background melody in Johan Von Bronx is so fucking beautiful. I enjoy the direction he's taking with this album, and I'm dying to hear some new Strokes material.

this comment is late, but it's only because it's taken me a long time to make up my mind about this album. when i first heard it I accepted the strange sounds and thought it was an okay album. a 7 out of 10 like you pinned it. but on a more personal level things in my life have gotten more depressing since then and I've found mysef really coming in tune with the songs. especially human sadness, the overlapping guitars match what I've been feeling and still feel. now when i look at this album its raised it's value for me because now i can appreciate the disorganized feel to it. because now my emotions are all over the place :')

Im not the most crazy fan of Julian and the Strokes, but i found this album amazing. I loved the look of the band, i loved the experimental sounds, i loved how dark it is, i loved how strong it is sometimes, how everything is a little bit criptical and sounds nonsense, it is definetely something you have to feel and oh my crap i felt it, almost every single track made me wet. I loved it.

When this album first came out I loved some songs instantly and some others seemed weird but now as some years have gone by those weird songs kind of make more sense. I would give this album a solid 9 because simply there's nothing else like it.

*Dare I Care* is definitely the best song off this album for me

I think this review was very fair and you made some great points. I give him huge credit for having BALLS when he makes music. He wanted to get away from making singles for record companies.

HOW COULD YOU SAY WHERE EAGLES FLY ITS WHERE NO EAGLES FLY OMFG R U K? jk mate but really its where no eagles fly

Just listened to it and dayum it's good. A couple of underwhelming tracks for sure, but not even one of them is bad. Never listened to Strokes, had no idea who JC is musically. I guess that helped.

I actually agree 95% with everything you said. I think Julian's vocals are astonishing in the first half of the album. And yes, I agree that Dare I Care was a bit boring. I've honestly listened to it number pus times, trying to get myself to like it, but it really doesn't speak to me. Father Electricity is definitely my favorite song. I loved how unique the beat was. His voice is amazing in it, along with in M.A.D, Crunch Punch (especially), and in Where No Eagles Fly. I'm predicting that he'll get a good amount of negative feedback just because it's so experimental and weird and it's not what anyone was expecting. It needs to be understood that Julian doesn't care about being famous or putting out what is commercially popular anymore. He's making music for himself now and is doing what he wants to do. I disagree on Xerox, though. Yes, it's slow and the best is a bit hollow, but I find the song strangely sexy and I think his voice sounds different and great in it. Also you're awesome and the best and you still look egg-like but that's cool

Agreed with almost everything excep that I really love the Strokes' third album.

This album is art, thank you Julian Casablancas

6/10 for me. I wanted album to sound more like "Human Sadness", but what i got is mediocre "indie-rock".

Wondering why there was nothing said about Nintendo Blood? That's the best song I've heard in a while. Good review other than that.

Johan Von Bronx can do no wrong. The instrumental is so interesting to me.

I'm not one to argue over opinions, but imagine hearing a song like Nintendo Blood and having the audacity to say that the vocals are underwhelming

Those three songs are amazing. Dare I Care is my favorite song on the album. Human Sadness I think should have been released as a single with another b side. The only song I found boring was the last song. The album feels really important. That's what I got from it. I didn't mind the dissonance at all, and was never really bored honestly. Feeling disappointed about the dissonance and the way it transitions well imo is like feeling disappointed that Beethoven stopped doing neat little perfect classical songs and invented romantic music.

well i really liked this review. it was very insightful and analytical. reviews of music always mess up my mind though. i start analyzing the criteria for what makes an album good or successful or indulgent or whatever. and then i overthink and break down everything and every contrasting view until i just get very existential

I think , that's strong 8 Julian reached next creative level in this album. pop ,garage ,hardcore punk ,synth, tribal beat , noise, awesome mixture.

I didn't know what to expect with this album but after Human Sadness completely rocked my world I was totally on board. The whole album grew on me really quickly and now I can't stop listening to it. It's so dense and chaotic, but when you really give yourself over to it, you start to see the intricate mechanics at work in the machine, and it's pretty beautiful.

1) Is This It: 9/10 2) First Impressions of Earth: 8,5/10 3) Room on Fire: 8/10 4) Angles/Comedown Machine.. same level... 7,5/10

The chorus in "Dare I care" sounds very similar to "One Way Trigger" from the strokes most recent lp, "Comedown Machine"

Did Dare I Care and Johan Von Bronx grow on you? I feel those tracks are great.

WILL YOU EVER DO A REVIEW OF ALT J THIS IS ALL YOURS?

I love the shit out of this record, gets better every time I listen to it, much like Angles and Comedown Machine from The Strokes. It has songs that amp you up like 'Where No Eagles Fly', 'Crunch Punch' and 'M.A.D' and songs that can put you in a melancholic state like 'Human Sadness', which I wished they put as the final track. I loved 'Johan Von Bronx' for the record. Good review of it by the way. Have you done the new Drums album yet?

i love this album, this experimental stuff is awesome. I love that Julian is willing to experiment so much

My favorite thing Julian has ever done.

I thought 'dare I care' was a great tune. It builds up very well and finishes nicely. For some reason it was the last track on the CD I burned (instead of 'off to war') and it really makes for a better send off than the original track listing.

He's so right about Julian being too mainstream to be accepted for being weird and experimental. That's why First Impressions of Earth wasn't well received. I'm just glad he doesn't care because his newer work has been amazing

Your thoughts on this album mirror my own. It's very different. I was on the fence at first, but after seeing them perform these songs live you can really appreciate the music much more. So much energy, the songs are so diverse but they all flow so well together. I hope to see more in the future; with Voidz and the Strokes I really like your reviews,this one included. Definitely a great channel/site to go to for new music.

Human Sadness for me is up there with Bohemian Rhapsody and Let it Happen

at first i was turned off by how weird and shapeless it was but after a few listens i'm really into it

Fam you should review Royal Blood. Sure it came out last month but I wanna hear your opinion

Awesome review! Totally agree with you on most parts. I would give "Human Sadness" alone a 10/10 just for the deep lyrical meanings and melodies though.

the Voidz is music for the head, not for the heart.

i've been listening to this record over and over since it came out. i came to it with no real expectations having seen the voidz live twice and being a bit skeptical to the new songs, even though i thought some of them were enjoyable and, of course, julian is preeeeetty much my favorite musician. in the end, i really enjoyed it, and i've seen a lot of people being pleasantly surprised about it like me. i'm really happy about this new direction he is going for, and the entire concept behind the album is very interesting. funny that my favorite tracks are the ones you liked the least (johan von bronx, dare i care) lol but that's life. great review, put out some thoughts i had about it but didn't know how to express that well, i guess. p.s: always been a lil curious about the fact that you don't like fioe (it's like my favorite album of all time). do you ever give it a listen every now and again or it's a straight up 'no' for you? would love to hear more of your thoughts on it!

honestly this album was rough at first but it grew on me. im thankful for this review melon. it helped me to re listen to this album and appreciate it

You forgot Johan Von Brox on your fav.

I agree to the fullest extent! In order to really appreciate this album you have to be a fan, you can't just dive in.

One thing I've liked about Julian's music, both in The Strokes and his solo work, is that I got into The Strokes when I was a teenager and tastes change, man. But, somehow, Julian's evolving musical style also evolved with my tastes, in an eerily similar way. At the height of my Strokes love I was into simple, no frills, garage rock and blues rock (The White Stripes). But then I got into 80s new wave type stuff and Angles came out and I loved most of it. By the time Comedown Machine hit I was full into my 80s fever and I still think that's their second best album after ITI. Right before I heard about Tyranny I was starting to get into progressive stuff like Mars Volta. But yeah, there are some stinkers here. Angles and Tyranny have one thing in common in that they are perfect records, except for the 3-4 songs that completely fuck everything up for the whole thing. Personally, I don't care since I got plenty of fantastic songs out of the deal and I can just not listen to the ones that fell short, but a lot of people get hung up on the "album as a whole" thing, which I've always felt is a weird way to think of music. If someone asked me, "Is this album good?" what should I say? Yes? No? Two thirds of it is mind-blowlingly amazing and one-third is meh? It's not like I'm usually listening to the whole album in order no matter what it is, so it's hard to know what to say about an album like this.

Really, really loved this album, and Xerox was one of my favorite tracks. So I guess I'm an outlier!

The way I feel about The Strokes last two album's is though they were so different to their first records, The records why I and many others loved their music, If a new band was to release an album like Comedown Machine people would love it ?

EL PINTOR PLEASE

coming from a person who had never really listened to the strokes until AFTER I listened to Human Sadness. I have to almost agree with the score. the first Half is a strong 8 and the last bit is about a 6. I feel like it's okay if more pop/rock musicians decide to go more experimental. The "catchiness" of some of these tracks isn't really offputting for me who usually listens to more strange stuff (Residents, Mr. Bungle, Captain Beefheart). Honestly when I first listened to Human sadness, I kind of just wanted an entire album of those kinds of songs, but listening to it now, I'm glad they went the direction they did, just wish some songs were better executed.

wonderful review! super nicely expressed and interesting!

he really proved himself as an independent artist who simply doesn't seem to think about what people might expect. it was the same with the first album where he pulled out the 80s synths which wouldn't have been "appropriate" too if you look at the simple rock scheme the strokes were moving along with. he created a recognizable handwriting in only two solo albums. i think it is more than a simple "album of a solo project of a former cult blabla band whatever.." he's an incredible musician with a remarkable sense for harmony and breaking harmonies and still keeping it ejoyable for a bigger crowd. the strokes' sound was something unique and it's still in these records so i figure it was him who defined that sound in that particular way. but this album isn't only interesting in a musical aspect, it also tries to grasp the general feeling of life nowadays and i think that attempt is really really great. the sound, in its unique way, reminds me of gorillaz a lot. that guy is like a damon albarn of 2014.

I loved this album, it (obviously) sounds better on CD than being streamed. At first, I wasn't into it. But after seeing these guys perform live. It really changed my view on them, the way they performed and played together was amazing. I gave the album a second listen and was sucked into it. It reminds me of when I started listening to Animal Collective. Just very abstract and strange, but it really grows on you. And btw, I love First Impressions of Earth. D:

Personally I don't have one song I don't like by The Strokes but I think their best albums are Angles and Is This It. Actually its a really hard decision.

I've always been a Julian fan. This is one of my favorites from him so far.

father electricity is my fav track!! the more i listen to it the more i enjoy it!! I didn't care for them much when i saw them live in ny but now i can't waitttttt

I was a pretty casual fan of The Strokes before I heard this LP so I didn't have a lot of bias towards JC to sway me to like it. I LOVED IT ANYWAY this album is everything I could ever ask for. If someone could list some bands that sound like this -- thank you so much

Interesting, I adored the vocals in the second half of the record--specifically. Especially on Dare I Care

First Impressions of Earth is the best Strokes album in my opinion.

It's a classic bro! I bump that to a 8

Did you even listen to the new Interpol album?

You missed in Dare I Care, has a similar chord sound to that of Happy Ending from Comedown Machine

Dare I care?!?! I LOVE that song!

You really nailed it. It is brilliant but unfortunately it may not go over well with old Srokes fans or those who are into very experimental 'art punk'. However, I am a fan of a wide range of music from Doomtree to Om to The Mae Shi to Rudimenary Peni to the Strokes early work. I havent gotten a chance to hear the entire album but I am quite obsessed with several of the songs especially Where No Eagles Fly. I have been longing for a song to satisfy my love of old Horrors (UK) and The Mae Shi, many of the trax I heard do just that. Thanks for the review.

This is a 10 to me. Just sonic bliss straight through.

Can't believe you haven't reviewed Perfume Genius yet.

This album has become more of a light 9 for me

I must be on crack cuz I love this album!

I had a feeling you'd enjoy this record! It took me 5 or 6 spins to really mine the hooks and catchy melodies out of it, but man is this thing a monster!! The best thing Julian's done since "Room on Fire."

review 'hesitant alien' pls

The record could just be "Human Sadness" and it would still be amazing.

Cant believe you would say first impressions of earth was not as good as the first two. You only live once is on that album so is heart in a cage

I loved it personally. Much more tonally mature.

Was glad to see you didn't totally shit on him like P4K did.

overall i agree on what you said, except for dare i care being one of my favourites on the album.

I would like to see you review of phrazes for the young. I want to hear your opinion, as I think it's some of the best stuff Julian has come up with

Julian's side project is definitely something else being a fan of the stroke but after a while of listens and not comparing the two bands you can see the beauty and diversity in this album. Tyranny is one of my favorite albums because of its heaviness and how different it is apart from other albums. I love is this it, the strokes debut album, out of all of the records they put out. I believe it is for the best if Julian does not go for pop sound.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM! Great review! Althought, I do not agree with your opinion on Dare I Care and Johan Von Bronx, they're ones of the best in Tyranny IMO

Angles and Comedown Machine were sick! I'm digging the far out stuff Julian is doing and Tyranny is maybe the most interesting product yet.

Do a review of Albert Hammond Jr.'s LP "AHJ"

Still wating for thom yorke review mr. fantano

Great Album I downloaded from the cult records website and I plan on getting the CD sometime before the end of this year. The Album was very Psych anb Punk influenced it made me feel like I was listening to the Lumerians album named: "Transmissions from Telos Vol. IV." All in all I think this was a great second solo project. I just hope when I buy the CD there is a booklet with lyrics and album art cause seeing album art that describes each song on the album enhances the experience with the band. First Impressions of earth did that and I really obsessed over the significance of that.

Xerox might possibly be my fave Voidz recording.

Do Thom Yorke!