Album Review: Tyranny by Julian Casablancas + The Voids

Let me start off by saying that it's impossible for me to discuss this album without comparing it to The Strokes or the former solo work of Julian Casablancas. This isn't to say it's due to similarities, but rather vast differences.

So here's a quick run-down: The Strokes formed in 1998, and and kind of a gruff rock and roll sound (like a post grunge indie thing). They took a break a few years back, and frontman Casablancas released a stylized 80s-sounding solo album with lots of synths. The Strokes regrouped and made two decent but very synthy albums reminiscent of some stuff Casablancas did as a soloist, but still with touches of the old Strokes.

This album is not like any of that.

When "Take Me in Your Army" kicks off, you feel like you might have stepped into a real-life retro horror video game. The song doesn't stay that way for long, but it does go on to remind you of something you can't quite put your finger on. All parts of the song blend together perfectly, but with something deliberately just a little off, so it's unsettling. Is it the attacking beeping synths? Is it the way the title line "take me in your army" goes for both a word and a note that wasn't what we might have expected? Or is it the fact that the coming and going of the vocals altogether isn't something you can predict?

We have the perfect amount of time to ponder all this, but not come up with a solution, before the next track, "Crunch Punch" breaks in in a completely different manner. It's bookended with found audio samples from old radio programs. "M.utually A.ssured D.estruction" is one of the hardest pieces on the album, yet there are touches of Casablancas' signature vocal style peeking out from under all the sound. It's also the shortest track on the album, leaving you only time to ponder its purpose, and it never really "gets going." Of course, "M.utually A.ssured D.estruction" gives way to the longest track on the album, "Human Sadness."

"Human Sadness" is just over ten minutes, with rough sounds and synthesized strings living harmoniously together with cliche Strokes guitar and Casablancas rambling vocals. The change comes in at almost exactly halfway, and it's as though you're listening to a battle take place. The lighter sound seems to win out in the end, possibly indicating the end of human sadness. The track doesn't seem as long as it is, despite the lyrics being all but impossible to understand.

The lead single "Where No Eagles Fly" has the only truly killer hook on the album, and certainly functions as the most accessible song on the album. The only hook that comes close to "Where No Eagles Fly" is "Business Dog," which is still as odd a number as the album gets, including a self-censor in the first minute of the song.

"Nintendo Blood" almost sounds like it will be a reprise of "Take Me in Your Army," but comes into its own soon enough. The album closes with the dreary "Off to War..." which has less musicality than many of its' cohorts on the album, but is a quiet enough, it almost acts as a fade out for the album.

The way many of these tracks mesh together sounds like they weren't created as an album. So much so that I don't think it was an accident. I think each closing and intro is meant to be jarring, to let you know who's in control, to tell you the track has changed and there's nothing you can do about it. It's almost as though it's to wake you from the notion that you might have found some security even in the nonsense of the previous song.

Tyranny is gritty and unique in a way nothing Julian Casablancas has ventured into before has been. At just over an hour long, this has to be one of the longest albums I've listened to in years too. But it's worth the time.

Julian Casablancas + The Voids are a rock group side project of Julian Casablancas.

Tyranny can be purchased here for only $3.87!

Album Review: Not a Trampoline by Rob Cantor

Rob Cantor isn't new to the music business, but Not a Trampoline is his first full-length solo work. Prior to this, Cantor released two comedic singles, "Shia LeBeouf" and "Christian Bale is at Your Party." Going even further back, he was a member of Tally Hall. It's very exciting to hear what he has to offer with his first album.

Not a Trampoline begins with the deep and dark "Ghost," which seems to improve with each listen. "Ghost" represents a natural step in the progression of Cantor's talent as a songwriter. It works on multiple levels: first as a catchy pop tune, next as a spooky story song, and finally as a philosophical piece. "Ghost" was a great choice for a single, and it's followed by the first single Cantor released off of this album: "Old Bike." I initially believed "Old Bike" to be just an attempt to recapture the success of Queen's "Bicycle Race," but it's really its own piece. The female vocals bring to mind Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Don't Come Around Here No More." "Old Bike" is a lighthearted Cantor track that will be perfect for any bicycling playlist.

"Garden of Eden" is an energetic piece about a Frankenstein-esque creator and his creation. The delivery is beautiful and unique, but the song's failing comes in the ending fade, the likes of which I haven't heard on anything since a 60s album. "Garden of Eden" is followed by "Rendezvous." On first listen, "Rendezvous" is very simple with a dance beat, but the song really works. The vocals Madi Diaz adds to the track help it not only with its complexity, but with the illusion that it could have come direct from the Drive soundtrack.

Next comes "I'm Gonna Win," a song fans of Tally Hall might recognize from the earlier incarnations including "All of My Friends." This final product, credited as written by both Rob Cantor and Joe Hawley is more empowering and with more direction than "All of My Friends," and has more dimension than Tally Hall's version of "I'm Gonna Win." That's not to say it doesn't lose something by being less haunting than "All of My Friends," but overall, "I'm Gonna Win" has been developed into a great song.

Things are wound down for the more acoustic "All I Need Is You." "All I Need Is You" is almost like a lullaby in parts, but picks up in others. "All I Need Is You" wouldn't have been out of place on Tally Hall's Good & Evil, and I wonder if it's a leftover from the years Good & Evil was in production. Either way, it has an outstanding, gif-based music video:

The album continues with "Flamingo," which I could hear as a club dancing song apart from how incredibly bizarre it is, in a very Cantor manner. The narrator states "I feel like I'm a shy enormous pink flamingo man." "Flamingo" gives way to "La Telenova," which is a departure from anything Cantor has produced to this point. "La Telenova" means "the soap opera," and is a collaboration with Jhameel. "La Telenova" is a very modern song, which also features some aspects of 60s folk pop in the melody, 90s pop in the bridge, and latin pop rhythms.

"In Memoriam" is a flowing, melodic tribute to Alan Alda, speaking of his life in the past tense, despite the fact that he's still alive. After "In Memoriam" (which is just over a minute long), comes "Let Your Mother Know." "Let Your Mother Know" is one of the strongest tracks in the latter part of the album. It's upbeat and catchy, and makes you want to move your body.

Nearing the end of the album, "Perfect" is a collaboration with Andrew Horowitz, and features his signature keyboards and sentimentality. Cantor adds his own style to "Perfect," but it's very noticeable that Horowitz had a hand in it.

Not a Trampoline closes with "Lonely (But Not Alone)," another personal-sounding piece, more acoustic than anything else on the album. As a closer, "Lonely (But Not Alone)" is near-perfect, winding the album down to an end.

Rob Cantor has a lot of musical talent, as a songwriter and lyricist, a vocalist and instrumentalist. Not a Trampoline is a great display of these talents. Not every song is perfect, but as a first solo work, Not a Trampoline is incredibly well done. I look forward to hearing more from Cantor and I encourage everyone to check out Not a Trampoline.

Rob Cantor is a singer-songwriter and instrumentalist. Not a Trampoline is his debut solo album.

Not a Trampoline can be purchased here.

Check out my interview with Rob Cantor here!

Album Review: Pure Fiction by Eric Hutchinson

Almost two years ago to the week, Eric Hutchinson released his sophomore album, Moving Up Living Down. And now, he returns. Each time Eric Hutchinson comes out with a new album, there's a moment in which one has to wonder: "Is this the album where he tips over that line into the mainstream? Is this the sellout album?" Yet despite his early album entitled "Before I Sold Out" and despite the fact that he was signed to Warner for a while, Hutchinson manages to maintain integrity to his central sound.

The first track and lead single is the most uplifting track on the album, "Tell The World." "Tell The World" sounds like a hit, and I'm not sure if it's fortunate or unfortunate that this song wasn't created until after his departure from Warner. On a mainstream release, "Tell The World" could have become a song that got overplayed on the radio. "A Little More" is the second track and single, and possibly the actual best song on the album. "A Little More" has a power pop feel unparalleled by anything else on the album. It probably has the most energy of any of the songs on Pure Fiction. It's catchy, pop-based, and yet soulful.

Right around "Forever," I started to worry that my fears about this album being a sell-out were founded. "Forever" has very few redeeming qualities. It's incredibly repetitive, with something more false than "wall-of-sound" going on in the backing track, and for some reason what sounds like a music box. But "I Got the Feelin Now" is a much better track, with genuine complexity and direction. "I Got the Feelin Now" is a smooth blend of disco and early 80s synths, with a pleasing rhythm.

"Goodnight Goodbye" assures us that this is the Eric Hutchinson that we've grown to know with the heartfelt vocals that Hutchinson specializes in. "Goodnight Goodbye" is followed by the pleasant "Love Like You," which starts with some synthesized strings before jumping back to the sound of Sounds Like This, complete with keys and backing vocals.

Moving forward, "I Don't Love U" is catchy and well-arranged, although I'm not sure whether the narrator is to be despised or sympathized with. "Sun Goes Down" is a decent, but ultimately skippable story song. It's almost the pop-folk version of a country song, in which the narrator receives yet another a postcard from his runaway wife, and seems finally able to let go of the memory of her.

The remaining two tracks on the album are for some reason labeled as acoustic, which seems wrong as a label for official album tracks somehow, but they're both decent songs. "Forget About Joni" has a Spanish feel and recounts the tale of a woman who seduces all the men, but is actually a lesbian. "Forget About Joni" is the home of the standout couplet on the album "She's the kind of a girl who wants a girl in her bed//you can give her your heart she wants your sister's instead." The final track isn't quite as strong. "Shine on Me" is a good tune, but not notable in any way.

Although it's a hodgepodge of styles and feelings, Pure Fiction proves that Eric Hutchinson still has it. It isn't as smooth or solid as his previous two albums, but it also has some of the highest-quality production so far. If you like top twenty hits, Pure Fiction might be a good gateway into Eric Hutchinson, but if you're more a fan of Motown or indie pop, this album should probably be a last resort.

Eric Hutchinson is a singer-songwriter.

Pure Fiction can be purchased here.