Fresh off the stage in Denver, Colorado, Julian Casablancas is contemplating the cyclical nature of his forthcoming Japanese shows. The release of his solo album "Phrazes for the Young," subsequent tour and news of The Strokes' recent reconciliation have ensured that the next six months will be busy. But it was actually in Tokyo that Casablancas ended several years of solitude and returned to the fray, unveiling his solo material for the first time last August.

"It was OK," he recalls in the kind of New York drawl that makes you go weak at the knees. "Actually," he counters after taking a needlessly long pause, "it was pretty rough."

Those familiar with The Strokes' frontman will appreciate this is the typically Casablancan default interview technique. Even when in a jovial and chatty mood — as he is tonight — his penchant for painstakingly unhurried conversation and short, guarded, ambiguous answers has led to accusations of not only haughty aloofness but also a lack of substance, a reputation at odds with a man once held up as the savior of rock 'n' roll.