Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! (2009) [Interscope] // Grade: B
Outside of their first self-titled EP, I never really jived with rest of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs catalog. As Karen O’s voice grew stronger and more confident, the rough, rootsy rock that dominated so much of their sound felt more and more at odds with their front woman. For every masterful pop-ballad like “Maps” there were 5 “Y Control” mucking up it’s glory. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have always been about a pop star waiting for the band to catch up to her… Well they’ve caught up.
On It’s Blitz the Yeah Yeah Yeahs finally drop the indie rock pretenses they’ve long been too polished for and embrace being the pop-rock band they were always meant to be. Like so much Pop of the 80′s, It’s Blitz! relies heavily on the interplay between synths and a powerful voice in creating songs that can be rockers, ballads and/or danceable in a showcase for Karen O that hints at, but never falling into New Wave revival territory. This was not only a smart move, but the right one for a band who had gone as far as they could go were they to simply put out another Fever to Tell or Show Your Bones..
As expected with any band growing into their new legs, there are some bumps in the road. Most caused from those moments where you sense the band holding themselves back from fully crossing over to the “dark side” of mainstream Pop. But in those instances where they wholly embrace it on tracks like “Zero”, “Heads Will Roll”, “Dull Life”, “Shame & Fortune”, “Dragon Queen” & “Hysteric” they create a sound and new-found swagger that make It’s Blitz! really refreshing and something special.
Will It’s Blitz! eventually be seen as the stepping stone in a career that will take them out of music halls and into sold-out arenas? That answer depends on what sort of band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs decide they are on their next album.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I totally agree with you. I think a lot of people (read hipsters) had very different expectations after their first album. They were almost positioned as this accessible post-punk-indie-underground-new-york archetype that was destined to lay claim to a distinct genre. But really, they were always a ‘pop band’ in the making. and i use that term loosely because back when they released Fever to Tell, that music definitely wasn’t pop.
Maybe it’s more about the times catching up with the band as oppose to the band catching up with themselves.
PS: I really like Y Control.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
“accessible post-punk-indie-underground-new-york archetype” That was always the Rapture to me but they seemingly just let the Killers run away with the opportunity.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I always thought of them as a pop act. They’re fun and danceable but I never felt an emotional connection to the music they made. This record feels like a huge step back into electro clash.
Here’s a review I wrote about the record.
The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs is good but it’s not great. It’s pretty disco heavy and the synths on the record feel kinda cheap and generic to me. It’s got a few catchy songs but I’d rather listen to great records than adequate ones. It’s better than Madonna’s “Ray of Light” but not as good as Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone,”
March 30th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
This record sound absolutely nothing like electroclash. Keyboards don’t magically signal dance music, especially not on this record.
And yes this is good but not great, but it does show the ambition of greatness if they keep on this track.
March 30th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
@ TC: did that not make the Vice cut?
@MPTC: In my mind, the Rapture will always be the Young MC of “accessible post-punk-indie-underground-new-york music”
March 30th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I don’t know what you’re referring to. I’m not involved with Vice.
March 30th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
the link goes to “bat for lashes” myspace by the way
March 30th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Thanks for the catch! I guess now you know what else is getting reviewed this week.