6.75 out of 10
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were one of those bands in the right place at the right time. They were one of a handful of bands that defined the earlier part of this decade's "indie" scene. If a day in my high school life was documented in a John Hughes film, YYY's would be on the sound track. There was a time when I listened to "Fever To Tell" every day.Like most of the other new york bands (The Strokes, Interpol, etc.) from the same time period, YYY's put out a stellar debut and then fell flat with their sophomore album. Both The Strokes and Interpol had trouble breaking out of their developed style, and were slammed for it. "Show Your Bones" was, with a few exceptional tracks, a large disappointment. Gone, for the most part, was their garage rock anthems; Yeah Yeah Yeahs went acoustic.
It's a long lead in, but that's the frame of mind I went in when listening to their new album "It's Blitz!". It's not back to basics, it's even more detached from their roots, "It's Blitz!" is pretty much Synth-Pop. Maybe they were trying to be featured in more commercials or maybe they really wanted to bust up the dance floor. It's catchy, it's "super 80's", It's YYY's meets Goldfrapp and Disco.
The YYY's were never that experimental, so it's not that surprising. Karen O will always be a diva, and I'm sure with this album will capture a new league of younger fans. "Heads Will Roll" is a bona fide radio hit, and I'm sure will be featured in many mixes this coming year. About half way through, it's starts to lull a bit with less than fantastic "Dull Life", "Shame And Fortune", and "Runaway", one right after another. It does end strong however, with the ballad "Little Shadow" being one of the strongest tracks.
I guess the best artists are the ones that are good at reinventing themselves so I can't blame them for trying, and honestly they did a good job with this one. I look forward to the endless remixes that are sure to follow.
Standout Tracks: Zero, Heads Will Roll, Hysteric, Little Shadow
no no NO THANK YOU!
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