Like a JFK assassination or a 9/11 attack, I remember the exact moment I first saw/heard Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I was laying on a hotel bed in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The music video for “Maps” started playing. A bunch of us were drinking and laughing, but right then everyone stopped cold. That drum starts up and we were entranced. I think I got a hold of a copy of Fever To Tell a couple days later and wore out track number 9.
It’s Blitz came out 2.5 months ago and I ignored it, but now I can’t bring myself to eject the disc from the damn console in my Kia Sorento. Why do we do that? We’ll get a CD and after the first full listen, we’ll constantly skip track 5, and play track 7 three times in a row. But then the mood will strike months later, we’ll do the full album thing again, and before you know it, you’re inserting the CD and forwarding DIRECTLY to track 5. We are strange creatures.
I’ve seen some criticism for the third album as being less emotionally present. That they’ve lost their “gravitas”. That’s a little short sighted I feel. A band has to evolve and experiment with different moods for each album. Some people seem to want bands’ new music to sound exactly like their old music. But what the hell does that accomplish? At this point I’m ready to compare this junior effort (if the second album is called the “sophomore” effort, then “junior” works for the third right?) with another third album that was released over a dozen years ago called OK Computer. I think it’s that good and will bring the band even more fame and success.
The first single, “Zero”, is fantastic, and you can hear it anywhere, so I won’t bother posting. “Heads Will Roll” is going to get some play. I’m having a hard time choosing what to post. I think I’ll throw “Dull Life” at you, because the song feels like anything but, and is certainly a middle-of-the-day anthem. The Deluxe Edition of the album has some acoustic tracks too that really give you a sense of the range their music traverses all by itself, so listen to “Soft Shock” in unplugged glory. And, how about… something a bit older? “Down Boy” (for those who might have missed the little-talked-about previous release, the “Is Is” EP).
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Dull Life”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Soft Shock” (Acoustic) [Deluxe Edition]
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Down Boy” [from Is Is EP]
