Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension

Blimey! Hands up who was expecting Julian Casablancas’ solo material to be the long awaited gold star from Team Strokes that we’ve been waiting for patiently for going on six years? You can put your hand down at the back - we all know you’re fibbing. If there’s ever been a band due a great album, there are few better candidates. For the first signs of green shoots to come from the frontman’s work sans band mates wasn’t on the agenda.

‘11th Dimension’, given it’s debut over The Internets today, is better than anything we’ve heard from any of 2001’s premier NYC croonsters since ‘Room On Fire’. A mix of 80s synths and trademark Casablancas vocal drawl, this is actually fun. Stabbing into life with a massive cheesy grin on it’s face, there’s a definite sense of familiarity alongside the refreshing sense of adventure, but by a minute in it’s clear that the mix is pretty much perfect.

Choosing against posing all coyly at the back of the bar, instead taking a conga train to the Copacabana, it’s only a shame we didn’t have this at the start of the Summer. Maybe it’s because it’s sunny out, but we’re suddenly looking forward to ‘Phazes For The Young’, the accompanying album, far more than we were 24 hours ago.