You might expect the Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas to be a little groggy after awakening from a three-year artistic hibernation, but instead, he calmly brushes the dust off his leather jacket, Casiotone keyboards and mic stand to deliver a punchy and refreshing solo debut with Phrazes for the Young. Infectious energy and meticulously crafted arrangements abound through the 40-minute album as Casablancas pieces together classically catchy compositions, sprawling country waltzes and hypnotic electronic blitzes to create one of the years more engaging releases.

The pull is present from the onset, commencing with the aptly-titled “Out of the Blue” in which Casablancas snarls over a backdrop of rhythm guitar and danceable synthesizers. This gives way to some of the stronger songs on the album including the cascading harmonies of “Left & Right in the Dark” and the firecracker of concentrated happiness that is “11th Dimension” — a whir of drum machines, countering keyboard melodies and biting quips that lurch between jadedness and optimism. The album also delves into experimental territory with Casablancas showing his range on the freewheeling folk ballad “Ludlow St.” An otherworldly wash of futuristic synths disintegrates into his ambling banjo-centric lamentation about the yuppification of the Lower East Side/former Velvet Underground haunt.

Phrazes for the Young is brimming with stellar musical composition, some theatricality and a decent bit of wit. Taking its paraphrased title from an Oscar Wilde collection concerning the wealth of information lost between generations and the superficialness and arrogance of humanity, the songs can be a bit acerbic and cynical at times — though it won’t matter too much when you’re boogying to them full blast.