Three albums into their career, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs can proudly
boast no repeats. Strangely, each stylistic shift has suggested a
different band: loud, dirty garage rockers (Fever to Tell),
electro-rock noisemakers (Show Your Bones) and now, a disco-pop
studio outfit. As the group’s cleanest album to date—fittingly
co-produced by TV on the Radio’s David Sitek—It’s Blitz! crisply presents each stuttering synthesizer, guitar trill, hiccupped
drumbeat, croon, moan and yelp.
Forget Fever to Tell‘s standout “Maps,” because It’s
Blitz! contains the group’s most gorgeous pop gestures to date.
“Skeletons” works a slow burn with synthesized Celtic tweets, marching
drum flare-ups and Karen O’s soaring calls, while “Hysteric”
masterfully rides a low-end buzzing guitar, sparkling, wheezing
electronics and O’s lullaby vocal incantations.
One of the major problems with It’s Blitz!, however, is the
way its fluttering beats and warm melodies can slink right by without
leaving an indelible impression. This is best evinced in the noisy
electronics of “Shame and Fortune” and the dance-floor mope of “Dragon
Queen,” two instantly forgettable tunes.
Although Nick Zinner’s expressive guitar wails and Brian Chase’s
monstrous drum crashes are toned down, it is in pursuit of a singular
sound. For instance, opener “Zero” focuses on a stuttering blast of
synthesizer rock, while “Runaway” is carried by music-box piano and
dramatic strings.
Rather than three magnetic entities, the group has congealed into a
true unit whose collective voice somehow grows louder through
controlled, focused maturity.
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2009.
