Albums to watch

Tyranny

Julian Casablancas + The Voidz

Tyranny

The Strokes frontman's first record with his new band, released on his own Cult Records label

ADM rating[?]

6.1

Label
Cult Records
UK Release date
13/10/2014
US Release date
23/09/2014
  1. 9.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    I can’t decide whether I’m stooping over a boundless cesspit, or listening to a masterpiece slowly unfolding. But I keep coming back
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  2. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    There's a lot to take in, but start to flick through the multiple sonic layers and you find classic songwriting ideas pulled off with stylistic aplomb
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  3. 7.5 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    Embodies an uninhibited weirdness that goes exactly where those of us who thought The Strokes were here to save music would inevitably go
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  4. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    It's the sound of a man shedding his skin. Not pretty, but more compelling for it
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  5. 7.0 |   Beardfood

    Obscured in beautiful, yet grimy production, Tyranny allows Julian to expand with no eyebrows raised
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  6. 7.0 |   Clash

    This is the sound of Casablancas giving a middle-fingered salute to his past
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  7. 6.7 |   Consequence Of Sound

    On first listen, it would appear that Casablancas is out of his mind, but really, he’s working with his most original material in years
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  8. 6.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    To call the album experimental would be an understatement, and while Casablancas’ initial intention of something “interesting” is met, it doesn’t make for an easy listen
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  9. 6.0 |   FasterLouder

    For an overstuffed, hour-long album that’s sure to divide fans, it’s not as ambitious or difficult as it is simply sprawling and unfocused
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  10. 6.0 |   NME

    Dark, angsty and frankly very weird: the sound of Julian Casablancas’ very own escape from New York
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  11. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    Some editing would have fixed the hedonistic digressions, but as experimental wig-outs go, this is curiously enjoyable
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  12. 6.0 |   The Observer

    There was a moment around Phrazes for the Young when Casablancas seemed to be gravitating towards the easy entitlement of yacht rock. This bloody-minded outing suggests Casablancas isn’t ready for contentment just yet
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  13. 6.0 |   Mojo

    The sound of Casablancas playing in his sandpit it still an acquired taste. Print edition only

  14. 6.0 |   Paste Magazine

    The album’s high points — the lo-fi synth screecher “Crunch Punch;” the paranoid and driving “Where No Eagles Fly - are not high enough to warrant wading through the muck
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  15. 5.0 |   PopMatters

    While the songs are definitely different and eccentric, there’s a real lack of a notable melodies or hooks, and while the effort is there, Tyranny just doesn’t feel very memorable or significant
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  16. 4.9 |   Pitchfork

    Maybe Tyranny will one day have a second life as a misunderstood cult record, but in the here and now, it sounds terrible and beyond redemption
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  17. 4.0 |   Q

    Casablancas has ended up confusing everyone - not least himself. Print edition only

  18. 3.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    That the Strokes-like ‘Johan Von Bronx’ is this record’s high point is testament to the notion that outside of that narrow, decade-old vision, Julian Casablancas is hopelessly lost
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