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Back when Fever To Tell came out, I wasn’t quite sold on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Sure “Rich†was a pretty cool song, “Dance With The Night†was tight and “Maps†has become a minor classic, but the album (particularly its second half) was underwritten, trying to make up in character what the songs lacked in composition. It’s hard to blame them for trying though, as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have always had character to spare. Karen O’s art-chic cool allowed her to pull off the role of punk front woman without resorting to the tired riot grrrl image while Nick Zinner’s endless supply of concrete riffs provided her with a partner in crime just as fierce and original (The other guys were good, too). They had all the style, but maybe not quite all the substance – yet. 
The band’s follow-up, Show Your Bones won me over in a big way. While it traded a great deal of David Sitek’s dense, noisy production for Squeak E. Clean’s more subtle approach, the trade off was a perfect fit for that album’s more personal material. More importantly, the album (particularly its superior second half) delved more into the vulnerability of Karen O that we were given a glimpse of in “Mapsâ€. Whereas some may have seemed justified in trashing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for being all flash but no bang based on Fever, Bones succeeded in fully debunking that viewpoint. And for those not entrenched in their pretensions, it proved that perhaps there was more to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs than we may initially have thought.
Whereas the band’s New York contemporaries The Strokes and Interpol failed to sustain their creative momentum past solid sophomore albums, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have not only managed to retain their brilliance the third time around, but have continued to grow, change, build upon past successes and adapt to the current movements of indie-rock on the phenomenal It’s Blitz.
Blitz’s sound may not be the expected logical evolution for the band, but it clearly proves itself to be a logical evolution. The album finds a wonderful balance between the noisy, dance edge of Fever and the more fragile, vulnerable pop of Bones. There’s also a strong club influence spread over the album, particularly on “Zero†and “Heads Will Roll†(indie DJs: you’ll want these). Luckily, Zinner’s just as imposing and exciting a presence with a synth as he is with a guitar.
Sitek’s production work is characteristically dense, though this time everything is enveloped in a ethereal sheen (possibly the contribution of co-producer Nick Launay?) that further distinguishes Blitz from the other items in the band’s catalog. “Soft Shock†and “Skeletons†in particular are more gauzy and dreamlike than anything the band has released up to this point.
Blitz is without a doubt the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ most consistent album to date; something that is both a pro and a con in relation to past albums. There’s not a weak track on the album but there’s also no dynamite standouts on the level of “Maps†or “Cheated Heartsâ€. “Zero†and “Heads Will Roll†are the rockers; “Skeletons†and “Hysteric†are the softer, sweeter songs; but the dynamic has been shortened, with neither being too extreme in either direction. Could it be a reflection of Sitek’s evolution as a producer, considering some had a problem with Dear Sciences,’s lack of rough edges in comparison to TVOR’s past work with him as well? Perhaps. By any measure, the consistent quality of the material makes this only a very minor qualm. Blitz may or may not be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ best album (I think the second half of Bones puts it just a bit ahead), but it is unquestionably another incredible entry into the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ increasingly impressive discography and proof that these Brooklyn art-punks might just hold it out for longer than anyone could’ve guessed.
It’s Blitz is out on Interscope March 31.
Tracklisting:
01. Zero
02. Heads Will Roll
03. Soft Shock
04. Skeletons
05. Dull Life
06. Shame and Fortune
07. Runaway
08. Dragon Queen
09. Hysteric
10. Little Shadow
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: website | myspace
Stellar!