Julian Casablancas + The Voidz has just released their third album Like All Before You. Produced and mixed in the band’s home studio in Venice, CA and the renowned Vox Studios in Los Angeles. The band collaborated with producers Ivan Wayman (Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, The War on Drugs), Justin Raisen (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kim Gordon, Yves Tumor) and SAD PONY(Lil Yachty, Drake) on several tracks.
Alongside the album release, the band is showcasing their track “7 Horses” featuring Casablancas’ vocals layered with a haunting electronic distortion and groovy synths. Considered to be the standout track of the album, the single feels like the closest it gets in terms of having a well-polished arrangement and production. It has all the traits that make a great Voidz song. Dark atmosphere, memorable and satisfying vocal melody, frantic drums and guitar work and unique use of auto-tune that doesn’t feel tacked on and appropriate for the tone of the track. Listeners might not find those qualities in the first listen, but with repeated outings, do those traits become apparent, with the third, fourth or even tenth listen, will this track becomes a repeatable favorite.
Meanwhile the lyrics to “7 Horses” use allusions to the biblical “Four Horseman of the Apocalypse” to paint a picture of failed dreams as the opening line to the “7 Horses” tells how the band were riding high on the trial of success until misstep after another lead to a decline of interest and motivation. The chorus then sings into the mystique of these missteps, while the bridge reveals a deep sense of personal failure and a plea for forgiveness that might have been given an unfair judgement. That’s prolonged until the outro where Casablancas makes one final declaration singing “I’ll get there, When I get there”, a declaration of how despite the setbacks, the sound and vision of the band will continue to the end.
Photo Credit: Owen Ela