Review: The Yeah Yeah Yeah - It's Blitz!

Rating: 7.8/10
By: Sherman Sim

It’s hard not to talk about The Yeah Yeah Yeahs without talking about the Karen O. Opinions about her are quite diverse, some loving her eccentricity and flamboyance, whilst others find it far too outrageous and over the top. Stage persona and antics aside, there is something oddly compelling and fashionable about The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ music.

With an album titled It’s Blitz!, and the symbolic image of a woman’s hand crushing an egg, most people would pretty much expect the same intense punk/art-rock from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Lead single and album opener, Zero, pretty much messes with any of such pre-conceived notions. Synth-scape is pretty trendy in today’s indie music scene, so there’s no surprise in The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ choice of musical direction. Zero begins with a electronic bass-line pulsating under Karen’s delivery (which has just the right amount of vulnerability and intensity), and crescendoes to a climax (pardon the pun) taking cue from Karen’s orgasmic yelps (as only she is able to pull off). No doubt Nick and Brian are content with letting Karen steal the limelight as the front-woman, but to ignore the harmony in musical layers would be criminal.

To call the rest of an album a “blitz” would be a gross misrepresentation. Even in the more upbeat tracks, from the discosey melodic carousel of Heads Will Roll to the danceable stomp of Dull Life, there’s a lingering feeling of restraint- not in the negative sense, however. In a way, it’s part of the self assured swagger a band like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs exude, not needing to overdo to impress (or as I would like to say, to get on your boots. No reference intended.) The natural ebb and flow of the album is an epic sweep in itself, which really hits its strides in the quietest moments.

A pleasing thing about this album is that The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were willing to take things down a notch or two for many of their tracks. Skeletons, Hysteric and Little Shadow, are all testaments to Karen’s vulnerability as a woman, and her tender delivery is a real stand out. In particular, the bonus acoustic version tracks were a huge plus, with the strings section weighing in such a soothing (never thought I would use this word) dynamic to the melody. Certainly, this album has it moments, and rises and falls with the quality of Karen’s delivery. It might polarize some of their fans, some who appreciate the maturity and underlying melodic approach taken by the band, as opposed to the others who might see it as an indie-disco masquerade. Still, a well-rounded approach and a proud addition to the library of any music lover.

Track Listing:
1. Zero
2. Heads Will Roll
3. Soft Shock
4. Skeletons
5. Dull Life
6. Shame and Fortune
7. Runaway
8. Dragon Queen
9. Hysteric
10. Little Shadow
11. Soft Shock (Acoustic)
12. Skeletons (Acoustic)
13. Hysteric (Acoustic)
14. Little Shadow (Acoustic)