[review]
This 11-minute track was released on Julian Casablancas’ own label Cult Records on 2nd September 2014 and is the first single to come from Julian Casablancas and the Voidz’s new album “Tyranny” to be released digitally on 23rd September from the Cult store. Physical copies and iTunes go on sale October 14th.
This song is full of different sounds and experiments. But as with most songs written by Julian the lyrics tell a powerful story. The instrumentals of this track cover a lot of what is being sung but the parts that are distinguishable are powerful and very sad. You know this song is going to be good when the guitar first kicks in; it prepares you for a ride that is this unusually long song that is so good it goes by in a blur. The creepy laugh at 2.40 gets me every time; I’ve never experienced a jump scare in a song before.
The chorus is very synthy and without having the lyrics in your hand there is so way to know what is being sung. But it complements the undertones of the instrumentals well and it does feel like it belongs in the song. This chorus would be missed if it wasn’t there. Julian has adopted the falsetto that he used in The Strokes latest album ‘Comedown Machine’ in this song, as well as a lot of synthesisers which gives the track a very psychedelic and raw feeling. It feels undone and shows vulnerability of, as the song states, human sadness.
The fact that this song is 11 minutes allows for a lot of sections to develop themes and guide you through the song, the further along you listen the more aggressive it becomes until it gets to the last two minutes where it softens and becomes very sad. The lyrics are more clearly heard so you really feel the song. This is my favourite part of the track. It’s the climax of the song for me and is the part you find yourself singing in your head long after the song has finished.
Overall I think this single is an indication of great things to come from Tyranny and has left me feeling excited for the release date of the album and for anything else The Voidz may do. This is a great single and I would recommend it to anyone to give it a listen.
Download the single on iTunes:
