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julian casablancas

The Voidz - "Leave It in My Dreams" / "QYURRYUS"

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Fresh off a name simplification, The Voidz have shared the lead single from their upcoming sophomore album, Virtue. "Leave It in My Dreams" is certainly more modest than the epic "Human Sadness," which served as the first taste of the band's full-length debut, Tyranny. This new track actually smacks more of The Strokes than The Voidz, but is ever so slightly more off-kilter and hypnagogic. That said, it's a catchy tune and is more enjoyable than what The Strokes have been up to in recent years. We're optimistic about the new album so long as the band balances out straightforward songs like this one with something more far out...

That's the spice.

Virtue is due out March 30 via RCA and Cult.

Julian Casablancas+The Voidz - "Human Sadness"

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8k3qB61lhk&feature=youtu.be You know, to hell with the people who say Julian Casablancas should accept his limits as a frontman. Technically speaking, sure his vocal range isn't the widest and his voice is most appealing when it's belting out a catchy, bad-ass hook; but I feel when he chooses to break away from those things, it only enhances his DGAF appeal. The above 11-minute-long art-rock odyssey "Human Sadness," taken from Tyranny (his forthcoming full-length debut with The Voidz), finds Casablancas as far out of his depth as a singer-songwriter as he's ever been. But rather than sounding like a crushing defeat at the hands of his limitations, it's more of a bold stand against them. He doesn't exactly nail the vocal highs and lows The Voidz's multi-phased composition calls for, but he gives this Sisyphean task his all, which I'd argue is just as (if not more) admirable. In my book Casablancas sounds no less bad-ass doing odd and surprising than he does doing punchy and immediate.

Looking forward to giving Tyranny a good listen when it drops September 23 via Cult Records.