At the turn of the twenty-first century, the New York City music scene floated in a surfaceless orbit of samplers, shoegazers, and delay pedals. The city's guitars lay choked by a digital fog, or else they lay dustily forg... more »otten. Then, in 2002, an unbridled five-song EP by an unknown band brought noise, sex, passion, and mayhem back to the stage and to the stereo. The band's name evoked the kid who knows that whoever's in charge is full of s**t -- "yeah, yeah, yeah" -- but it also rang with the affirmation of pure rock and roll: F**k yeah! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' first full-length album, Fever to Tell, was simultaneously filthy, infectious, sloppy, and brilliant. You could dance to it, and you could probably die to it. "Maps" was nominated for a Grammy, and the record went gold in the UK. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs spawned a new breed of power trio. They work together as a single organism, but each member maintains their own personality and contributes their own strengths. Think of them as a three-piece Earth, Wind, and Fire. On second thought, it's probably better if you didn't do that. Brian Chase's drumming couldn't be tighter or more precise, even as the band descends into the pitch-dark caves of noise he frequents in his free-jazz spare time--and one can hear rigor and experiment behind even his simplest, no-frills (or -fills) rhythms. Nick Zinner's guitar pushes back--hard--against Chase's formalism, grounding the group in rock and roll at its ballsiest, dirtiest, and most shredly. His soaring, sometimes grinding lines are wires connecting Chase's drums to the psychologically kaleidoscopic vocals of Karen O, who, as the New Yorker has noted, would have been a success "had she appeared with nothing more than a microphone and a pair of maracas." The band developed an itchy and unshakeable aversion to repeating itself. It would have been easy enough to record another spastic, live-sounding garage album after the success of Fever, but their next full-length, 2007's Show Your Bones, added acoustic guitar and more serious compositions that picked up on the direction suggested by a song like "Maps." Rolling Stone called the record a "textural triumph," and the group honed their legendary stage performance -- one cannot understand the Yeah Yeah Yeahs without seeing Karen O writhing and thriving onstage. A handful of great songs that didn't make it onto Bones became tour staples (and fan favorites), and the band sat down with the celebrated PiL/Slits/Gang of Four producer Nick Launay to record 2007's EP Is Is. Last year, the Yeahs shook their Etch A Sketch® clean to start work on a new record with producers Dave Sitek and Nick Launay. "We usually go into these things totally blind," Karen O said. "We have no idea what's going to happen when we sit down." This empty page feeling was helped by geography: they began writing the record in the middle of a snowstorm, in a hundred-year-old barn in rural Massachusetts. "You looked out the window and it was just pastures and pastures of snow-covered fields," she said. Zinner had brought along a synthesizer to work with during the writing session, not expecting it to end up on the album. "That was an old keyboard I bought on eBay," he said. "Literally, it was the first day we were setting up, plugging things in. Ten minutes later, we'd written that song 'Skeletons.'" The song--and the whole record--have a new feeling of space and atmosphere that's unusual for the band. "Obviously, synths have been in rock music forever," Zinner says. "But to us it feels new, which is all we really care about--that excitement." It's Blitz! signals both a glance backward and a step forward for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Zinner's vintage Arp--the same model used on records by The Cars, Joy Division, and Kraftwerk--contributes atmospheric washes ("Skeletons"), disco wiggles ("Dance till you're dead!" Karen sings on "Heads Will Roll"), and New Wave melodrama ("Soft Shock"). The first single, "Zero," combines all these elements to create a dance-floor anthem that sings directly to the listener. "We've got a death grip on the adolescent way of feeling things," O said. That's something I'll never be able to shake in the music I write. It's almost feels like a John Hughes 80s movie." But acknowledging the past in this way doesn't sound make for a nostalgic-sounding album. "I think there's a cool stability reflected in this record," Brian Chase says. "It reflects our transformation, and how we've developed as people."« less
At the turn of the twenty-first century, the New York City music scene floated in a surfaceless orbit of samplers, shoegazers, and delay pedals. The city's guitars lay choked by a digital fog, or else they lay dustily forgotten. Then, in 2002, an unbridled five-song EP by an unknown band brought noise, sex, passion, and mayhem back to the stage and to the stereo. The band's name evoked the kid who knows that whoever's in charge is full of s**t -- "yeah, yeah, yeah" -- but it also rang with the affirmation of pure rock and roll: F**k yeah! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' first full-length album, Fever to Tell, was simultaneously filthy, infectious, sloppy, and brilliant. You could dance to it, and you could probably die to it. "Maps" was nominated for a Grammy, and the record went gold in the UK. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs spawned a new breed of power trio. They work together as a single organism, but each member maintains their own personality and contributes their own strengths. Think of them as a three-piece Earth, Wind, and Fire. On second thought, it's probably better if you didn't do that. Brian Chase's drumming couldn't be tighter or more precise, even as the band descends into the pitch-dark caves of noise he frequents in his free-jazz spare time--and one can hear rigor and experiment behind even his simplest, no-frills (or -fills) rhythms. Nick Zinner's guitar pushes back--hard--against Chase's formalism, grounding the group in rock and roll at its ballsiest, dirtiest, and most shredly. His soaring, sometimes grinding lines are wires connecting Chase's drums to the psychologically kaleidoscopic vocals of Karen O, who, as the New Yorker has noted, would have been a success "had she appeared with nothing more than a microphone and a pair of maracas." The band developed an itchy and unshakeable aversion to repeating itself. It would have been easy enough to record another spastic, live-sounding garage album after the success of Fever, but their next full-length, 2007's Show Your Bones, added acoustic guitar and more serious compositions that picked up on the direction suggested by a song like "Maps." Rolling Stone called the record a "textural triumph," and the group honed their legendary stage performance -- one cannot understand the Yeah Yeah Yeahs without seeing Karen O writhing and thriving onstage. A handful of great songs that didn't make it onto Bones became tour staples (and fan favorites), and the band sat down with the celebrated PiL/Slits/Gang of Four producer Nick Launay to record 2007's EP Is Is. Last year, the Yeahs shook their Etch A Sketch® clean to start work on a new record with producers Dave Sitek and Nick Launay. "We usually go into these things totally blind," Karen O said. "We have no idea what's going to happen when we sit down." This empty page feeling was helped by geography: they began writing the record in the middle of a snowstorm, in a hundred-year-old barn in rural Massachusetts. "You looked out the window and it was just pastures and pastures of snow-covered fields," she said. Zinner had brought along a synthesizer to work with during the writing session, not expecting it to end up on the album. "That was an old keyboard I bought on eBay," he said. "Literally, it was the first day we were setting up, plugging things in. Ten minutes later, we'd written that song 'Skeletons.'" The song--and the whole record--have a new feeling of space and atmosphere that's unusual for the band. "Obviously, synths have been in rock music forever," Zinner says. "But to us it feels new, which is all we really care about--that excitement." It's Blitz! signals both a glance backward and a step forward for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Zinner's vintage Arp--the same model used on records by The Cars, Joy Division, and Kraftwerk--contributes atmospheric washes ("Skeletons"), disco wiggles ("Dance till you're dead!" Karen sings on "Heads Will Roll"), and New Wave melodrama ("Soft Shock"). The first single, "Zero," combines all these elements to create a dance-floor anthem that sings directly to the listener. "We've got a death grip on the adolescent way of feeling things," O said. That's something I'll never be able to shake in the music I write. It's almost feels like a John Hughes 80s movie." But acknowledging the past in this way doesn't sound make for a nostalgic-sounding album. "I think there's a cool stability reflected in this record," Brian Chase says. "It reflects our transformation, and how we've developed as people."
"I've been a fan for a wile and I can understand how some may feel a little disappointed with this CD since it's not as hard as their old stuff. They seem to be progressing much like all good artists do, which I think is a good thing. I'd say just try to listen to the album on it's own and after listening to it a couple of times you will come to love it.
Plus, I think this version (with 4 extra acoustic tracks of Soft Shock, Skeletons, Hysteric, and Little Shadow) is well wort the extra few bucks it costs over the original 10 track CD.
Also, I'd suggest taking a look at Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP "Is Is" if you haven't already. This EP was released around their last tour and is a lot more like their older stuff, which should make a lot of the die hard fans happy."
Mesmerizing
D. C. Lugo | Puerto Rico | 06/29/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been a fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for quite some time and I have to say that when I got this CD I almost could not believe it was them. They went out of their classic elements to create some new tunes that are simply beautiful. The acoustic songs have some special uniqueness that almost make you cry when you hear them. Trust me, once you hear the CD a couple of times, you'll be hocked. This is a new side of the yeah yeah yeahs, indie at its best."
Love it!
BeckyB | AR | 06/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"So glad they are back with a new CD and this may be the best one of theirs to date. Been a big fan for years. :) They just keep getting better!"
An outstanding album
S. Sale | Canton, IL USA | 05/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a recent convert to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, so I will state outright that I have no preconceptions as to what they "should" sound like. It can be difficult to deal with change in a favorite band/group, but it is essential to the band's survival that they change their style over time to keep from becoming stale.
That is what I see this newest album as, a shining star in Yeah Yeah Yeahs already remarkable journey. I have since picked up their other two major releases, their self titled EP and the EPs, "Machine" and "Is Is." Well worth it to pick them all up!
This album, "It's Blitz!," has become my go-to because of the many moods it conjures up. It speaks of building self-confidence, depression, rekindled love and loss.
It begins upbuilding with the two most synth-heavy tracks, Zero and Heads Will Roll, with bright, poignant vocals and guitar riffs with the steady drumbeat that holds it all together.
The album becomes much more sober as it hits Soft Shock and Skeletons, and appears to delve into failing relationships and the emotions associated with them. Skeletons especially makes extremely good use of simple lyrics to convey a great deal of emotion. If you liked "Maps" from Fever to Tell, you will most likely love this song.
The album fires back up for a bit with Dull life, which is quite similar to their older work, with Karen's vocals and the Nick's guitar fiercely revving up throughout the song. I've heard it is actually a song they've played numerous times in live shows, but never really recorded. Shame and Fortune has a defiant tone, similar to Dull Life, an effective and enjoyable follow up overall.
Runaway is another somber tune, speaking of uncertainty on the part of one person in a relationship, while the other is controlling, even dominating to the point the other requires their help to go on. This is shown by the lyrics, "want you to be my prize," and, "not so strong without these open arms." Quite depressing, but it works well with the rest of the album. Overall, a sad, but beautiful song.
Dragon Queen brings another synth song into the mix, adding to the variety of what could possibly be a depressing end of the album. It's a dance/disco style song, with Karen's voice more subdued.
Hysteric follows on this style, but Karen is more fired up. Hysteric is being called one of the best songs on the album by more than one critic, as it is their most effective "pop like" song. It's very different from their older work, but a great song nonetheless.
The last song on the album (not the bonus songs) is Little Shadow, a beautiful and hopeful song, showcasing Karen's versatility. It's another song with a feeling hope in the lyrics. A fitting end for an album I know I will continue to enjoy for years to come, perhaps my whole life.
As a nice bonus on the Digi-pack, there are acoustic versions of Soft Shock, Skeletons, Hysteric and Little Shadow. They are all very easy listening - Karen's voice is melodic in it's softness and beauty, something early fans would possibly be shocked by. We all know Karen is one of the most talented female vocalists out there though, so it shouldn't come as much of a shock. :)
Anyway, if you like accoustic at all, the deluxe pack is a no brainer, as these are some of the best accoustic transformations I've ever heard.
Overall, I highly recommend that anyone who likes good lyrics, great guitar and, in my opinion, the best vocals so far this year. I just can't get enough of this band."
Genius Work from an Iconoclastic Band
Steven W. Hirsch | New York City, USA | 04/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If I said this stage in the yeah yeah yeahs metamorphosis from a great band to a truly iconoclastic artistic force reminds me of radiohead's transition from "The Bends" to "Ok Computer", how many of you would say I'm stating a tautology? Another appropriate analogy with Ok Computer is that like any truly work of genius, this album requires several listenings before you "get it".
Consider how many times you needed to read "Moby Dick" or "Ulysses" before you got it. How many times do you listen to "Ok Computer" or "Exile on Main Street" before it was clear that these were light years ahead of anything else recorded? How many times did you stare at Godel's proof before it's beauty jumped out at you? Same with "It's Blitz!!" The sad part is that many yyy fans will trash this before they realize how great it truly is."