Micro-subtleties and perfect rhythm: Why Julian Casablancas is quietly a “jaw-dropping” singer
When most people think of the greatest vocalists in music history, they think of the powerful belters helmed by Freddie Mercury or the whistle tones of Mariah Carey. They think of the smooth sounds of Adele or the vocal control of Aretha Franklin. Rarely do people consider the leather jacket-donning, shaggy-haired indie rock frontmen of the 2000s, but that doesn’t mean that Julian Casablancas isn’t worthy of praise for his talents behind a microphone.
The Strokes spawned from New York City in the late 1990s, but it was amid the 2000s post-punk scene that they really came into their own. With punchy riffs and memorable melodies, they honed a style that sounded fairly contained and controlled but would eventually fill arenas. Their success was helped by a collaborative relationship with producer Gordon Raphael.
Raphael first linked up with Casablancas and his bandmates for their debut EP, The Modern Age. The collaboration clearly worked, as The Strokes brought Raphael back in for their debut album, the iconic Is This It, in 2001. A couple of years later, they reconvened for a sophomore offering, Room on Fire, in an experience that opened Raphael’s eyes to Casablancas’ vocal talent.
“One of the highlights of Room on Fire was that Julian sat next to me in the studio, in the control room,” Raphael remembered during a conversation with Daniel Sarkissian, “He didn’t stand in the live room; he sat next to me in a chair. So I was just like shoulder to shoulder with this guy while he was singing every word on that album.”
The immediacy of this experience made the producer realise just how talented Casablancas was as a singer. He went on to praise The Strokes’ frontman’s impressive power over tone and rhythm, noting how he can change these elements at will. “He is so in control of his rhythm that he can push, push, push, rushing ahead of the rhythm and then end up perfectly on the rhythm and you don’t know why it gives you this excitement,” Raphael observed.
This vocal control is audible across Room on Fire, standing out even amidst some of the band’s most enchanting riffs. On ‘Under Control’, for example, Casablancas takes his time, unhurried by the instrumentation around him, drawing out his words as he pleases. On ‘The End Has No End’, he shows off that command over rhythm despite keeping his vocals fairly understated.
Casablancas doesn’t necessarily shout about being a great singer; instead, he uses it to serve the sound of The Strokes, dipping in and out of rhythm in line with what each song requires. His vocals are never loud or flashy, but they don’t need to be. “He knows how to do these micro-subtleties with rhythm and tone that make him a jaw-dropping singer,” Raphael rightly asserted.
The Strokes frontman likely won’t be rivalling the likes of Franklin or Mercury for the top spot on lists of singing greats anytime soon, but there is a quiet brilliance to his vocals that can go unnoticed due to their subtlety. But suppose you look a little closer between The Strokes’ sublime riffs and indie rock choruses and imagine yourself sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Casablancas in the studio. In that case, those vocal intricacies and subtleties are just as intriguing as and integral to any other element of the band’s sound.
