Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a band once renowned for their wild, rough music and berserk stage antics of frontwoman Karen O, have just released a surprisingly mature and solid new album, It’s Blitz.
Their last release, 2007’s Is Is EP, opened with a slow, ragged drumbeat, the ugly staccato static of a low guitar, and exceptionally gruff singing from Karen O, a confrontational chant that almost descended to the level of an aggressive grunt. “Zero,” the first track on It’s Blitz, however, begins with the sterile sound of a pulsing synth and the hint of electric hisses and beats. The contrast with their previous style is really shocking.
The lyrics come in: Ms. O’s vocals are first calm and plaintive, then gaining in emotion. “Can you climb, climb, climb higher?” she gasps out. And the wave peaks: a charging electronic beat takes over, and the song is zooming along like a shiny, futuristic locomotive. Although I’ve described it with the stupidest simile of my life, it’s an amazing opening and sets the tone for a great album.
The music is quite different from past Yeah Yeah Yeahs releases. Their last full-length album Show Your Bones was fairly controlled and technically tight compared to their earlier barbarism. It’s Blitz goes even further. While it still features the guitar of Nick Zinner, this album’s heavy reliance on synths and electronic sounds constitutes a massive textural shift. “Heads Will Roll” begins with samples and synths joined by deep bass, near-eurotrash beats, and canned handclaps. Although it’s a new direction for the band, they make it work. I guess there’s only so much a band can do with one guitarist, one drummer, and one singer; the decision to add such a heavy component of electronic music allows them to create a much more complex and layered sound. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs exploit this opportunity on soft, slow tracks like “Skeletons” and especially “Hysterical,” creating simple and beautiful songs over shimmering backgrounds reminiscent of the band’s biggest hit, “Maps.”
Karen O’s singing is still the most striking element of the music. It pulls everything together, synthesizing and crowning it. She possesses a vocal charisma that few other singers have. She doesn’t hesitate to experiment with singing styles: here, drawling out threats in an arresting low slur and there, letting out ecstatic screams and yelps. She swaggers across the music with a supreme confidence.
With this new album, Yeah Yeah Yeahs have displayed a lot of ability, retaining the skills that have served them through their career while expanding their style in a totally new direction. It’s Blitz is filled with songs that are both very strong, musically, and also exciting and accessible.
