The Voidz - Like All Before You

“Give the humans what they want / Some music for them to blow their brains out to,” sings Julian Casablancas on the meditative pianos of ‘Like All Before You’’s centrepiece ‘Spectral Analysis’: a total red herring (albeit a rather lovely one) amongst an album that sounds like an ‘80s video game version of the future, all robotic, vocoder-drenched vocals and warped genre-flitting. In his work with The Voidz (and, far more frustratingly, during The Strokes’ often barely-audible festival shows), Casablancas has shown he has little time for delivering the former sentiment: what the humans want is what he used to give them, but JC doesn’t really give a shit about any of that. 

As for the second half, while The Voidz’ third album is unlikely to cause anyone to reach for the revolver, there is an overriding sense of anxiety and paranoia to the palette they create that’s the opposite of a straightforward listen. ‘Prophecy of The Dragon’ drops unexpectedly into a grizzled section of metal guitars, while ‘7 Horses’ combines a strange mix of reggae and pensive, riffy noodling; somehow, it actually works. ‘Flexorcist’ delivers the record’s catchiest (only?) proper pop moment, however on ‘Square Wave’, Casablancas’ treated-to-the-extreme vocals are basically Vic Reeves’ club singer gone electronic. It’s this mash of ideas that’s the record’s biggest sticking point. In isolation, there’s a lot to enjoy among these tracks, but together, ‘Like All Before You’ requires a lot of listens and maybe a couple of aspirin to translate.