Tyranny | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 23, 2014 | |||
Recorded | 2013–2014 | |||
Studio | Labyrinth, NYC[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 62:25 | |||
Label | Cult | |||
Producer | Shawn Everett | |||
The Voidz chronology | ||||
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Alternate album cover | ||||
Singles from Tyranny | ||||
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Tyranny is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Voidz (marketed as Julian Casablancas + The Voidz), recorded at Labyrinth, NYC and released on September 23, 2014 through the Cult label.[5] The first single from the album, the 11-minute track "Human Sadness", was released on September 2, 2014. The music video for the second single "Where No Eagles Fly" was directed by guitarist Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter.[4] On September 19, Tyranny was made available to stream on the websites of Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.
The album was placed 50th in NME's "Top 50 Albums of 2014" list.[6]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 66/100[7] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
Clash | (7/10)[9] |
Consequence | Favorable[10] |
Drowned in Sound | (9.75/10)[11] |
Exclaim! | (8/10)[12] |
The Line of Best Fit | (6.5/10)[13] |
NME | (6/10)[14] |
Paste | (6/10)[15] |
Pitchfork | (4.9/10)[16] |
Rolling Stone | [17] |
The album received generally positive reviews, though outlets often expressed mixed opinions. Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5 stars, calling it "the sound of a man shedding his skin. Not pretty, but more compelling for it."[17] Paste gave it 6.0,[15] while Exclaim! gave it 8 out of 10, calling it "a seriously sad album...compelling."[12] Lucas Villa of AXS awarded four out of five stars, writing, "Casablancas continues to exercise his experimental muscle in the most raucous ways with The Voidz in tow."[18] Benji Taylor of Clash gave the album 7/10, calling it "a weirdly wonderful mesh of awkward time signatures, unconventional song structures and, in general, unbridled madness".[9] Pitchfork was among the most negative of the reviewers, giving the album a 4.9 and calling it unlistenable and a failure.
GQ printed in a 2014 interview with Casablancas entitled, "Julian Casablancas Is Done Trying to Save You",
The record's called Tyranny, and that's sort of what it's about, Casablancas says: rapacious oil companies and a not-so-free press and environmental depredation. Money. Health care. Nightmares. The moon. "It's not very sexy to talk about these things, especially in a place like America, where things are, like, the best. But it just feels like we’re inside that Versailles bubble, you know?"[19]
All tracks are written by Julian Casablancas, except where noted[5]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Take Me in Your Army" (Jake Bercovici, Casablancas) | 4:20 |
2. | "Crunch Punch" | 4:50 |
3. | "M.utually A.ssured D.estruction" | 2:31 |
4. | "Human Sadness" (Alex Carapetis, Casablancas) | 10:56 |
5. | "Where No Eagles Fly" (Bercovici, Casablancas) | 3:44 |
6. | "Father Electricity" | 7:23 |
7. | "Johan Von Bronx" | 5:58 |
8. | "Business Dog" (Casablancas, Jeramy Gritter) | 2:35 |
9. | "Xerox" | 5:01 |
10. | "Dare I Care" | 6:07 |
11. | "Nintendo Blood" | 5:53 |
12. | "Off to War..." | 3:17 |
Total length: | 1:02:25 |
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] | 176 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] | 128 |
French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 90 |
US Billboard 200 | 39 |
US Billboard Alternative Albums | 2 |
US Billboard Rock Albums | 10 |