Phrazes for the Young

“Phrazes for the Young” is the first solo album by musician Julian Casablancas, known for being frontman and main lyricist of the New York rock band The Strokes. The album was released on November 3rd, 2009, two years into The Strokes' sudden hiatus. The eight-song album was recorded in New York, Los Angeles, and Omaha, Nebraska. With production by Jason Lader and Mike Mogis.

The album involves strong elements of new wave and electronica, with Julian’s usage of synthesizers for many songs. He discussed his new influences in an interview:

“I would’ve gone weirder with the music, but I wanted to be smart. I didn’t want people to say, ‘Okay, this is his weird abstract thing,’ and dismiss the album. I worked too hard on it for that to happen…I wanted to be crazy original and bridge the gap between traditional music and modern music.”

The album title is a reference to Oscar Wilde’s “Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young”, while the artwork shows Julian alongside his dog, Balki. Art design was taken care of by Warren Fu.

The album spawned three singles: “11th Dimension”, “Out of the Blue” and “I Wish It Was Christmas Today”.

After the initial release, new songs were added, those being: “Old Hollywood”, “30 Minute Boyfriend”, and “Long Island Blues”. The album debuted at #35 on the US Billboard 200 (#11 on the digital albums chart) and #19 on the UK Albums Chart.