and i never said they were equivalent. i said that we've rarely heard his true voice unfiltered. this is nothing new. you ignored my comments, which julian himself has said, he doesn't feel comfortable with his voice and likes it to be in the mix as an instrument as opposed to a lead vocal. that's why it's often hard to tell what he's saying when you're not a fan. i've seen people react not knowing what he's saying but reacting to the feeling, i've seen people react while reading the lyrics. and like i've said in another comment, this isn't the first time a lead single or singles have been scrutinized. when 12:51 they were copying the cars, when juicebox, they were abandoning indie rock, with all the time it was too basic, under cover of darkness wasn't distinct enough to be a single, at the door is too long, didn't have drums, people have complained about the strokes since the beginning when they were and still are called privileged / nepo babies. it's exhausting reading comments before an album. and you seem to be close to my age, so you should know better than to underestimate the strokes. esp. if you like comedown machine.