The Voidz
Virtue

Julian Casablancas hits the mark, and this time not with his main band (The Strokes), but with his new travel companions The Voidz.

This new “Virtue” comes four years after the previous “Tyranny” (back then under the name “Julian Casablancas + The Voidz,” now only the band's corporate name remains, as if to emphasize a new status as a fully-fledged group) and it's a great listen. Released through RCA and produced by Canadian Shawn Everett (previously alongside Alabama Shakes and Weezer), it consists of 15 solid and convincing tracks that span genres, moods, and atmospheres so diverse that they bring to mind the biography of a schizophrenic artist.

Casablancas had declared, before the release, the intention to develop a more accessible musical discourse compared to previous proposals; and the choice to release “Leave It In My Dreams” as the lead single seemed to steer everything in that direction, being a rather radio-friendly, smooth, and heavily Strokes-like track.

However, upon listening to the new album, you quickly realize what a sensational decoy that was; “Voidz” is a spectacular rollercoaster traveling through sounds, colors, and genres all different from each other, starting with the subsequent “QYURRYUS,” an orientalist delirium in electro sauce.

It's a work that is difficult to divide into three different segments. The first is one that draws heavily from the “mother” band: aside from “Leave It In My Dreams,” the category also includes the new wave fascinations of “Wink” and the stellar folk for guitar and voice in “Think Before You Drink.”

Then we have a stream of tracks that step on the accelerator and offer us far heavier and more decisive moments in terms of sound, allowing drummer Alex Carapetis (member of Wolfmother) to showcase his hammering qualities behind the skins; “Pyramid Of Bones” is more refined and squared in terms of sound, while “Black Hole” and “We Are Where We Were” run wild through industrial, metal (the central part of the latter is devastating) and noise suggestions.

In the remaining tracks of the album, things get much more complex, given the impressive array of styles retraced by the band. It goes from the synth pop of “Permanent High School,” to the Radiohead bastardized with Depeche Mode of “My Friend The Walls,” to the Gorillaz-style hip hop pace of “AlieNNation” to the Artic Monkeys era “Suck It And See” britpop of “Lazy Boy,” up to the dark ballads “Pink Ocean” and “Pointlessness” (which could come from any episode of the recent Lynchian revival of Twin Peaks).

An incredibly varied and complete album this “Virtue,” which makes its variety its strength. One of the surprises of 2018.

Best track: “Think Before You Drink”