Review:

on 2011-09-09 CharlesMartel Said:

Indie rock meets the dancefloor  and does it in some style and panache as well. 2008 was a year when retro eighties synth pop was resurrected from the dead. Bands like Cut Copy and Hot Chip shuffled zombie-like centre stage and expected us all to dust off our padded shoulders, blow dry our hair into ludicrous expanded lion manes and hop to their updated version of Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and a Flock of Seagulls. One year on and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs show them how it should have been done properly.

Yet for all its posturing, this is not the time to break out the glitterball. The Yeahs may have broken, for the, new ground, but this is not the disco we all loved to hate and came to fear. This is barely, at times, disco at all. Although there are strong dance music influences to this, "It's Blitz" is guerilla dance: its something you put on when you want to drive the handbag encircling swaying hordes off the floor and put on something to get those who know how to move (or at the very least think they know how to move and have no inhibitions about it) out and strutting their stuff.

I had had few dealing with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs before this - seemed like a silly name to give one of a any number of US indie rocksters. But I checked this out and, despite huge misgivings, found that what should have been by all reckonings an up-in-lights, headline-grabbing jumbo jet crashing into Manhattan sort of catastrophe actually ends up coming across pretty good. I am not a great one for dance music but anything with a relentless beat and a dense enough sound to dissipate the mindless drones which infect most dance floors has got to be a good thing in my book.

Of course it is not all in the same vein - a mistake many lesser outfits have made. But the Yeahs have clearly left behind their primitive New York garage-punk-fuzz-guitar days. The guitars are still there but they are no longer the dominant musical instrument. Pulsing synthesizers have moved to the fore and provide as much rhythm as any other instrument. Many people are not going to like this new shift. But the band clearly had to go somewhere as they could not survive indefinitely on the type of music which brought them their initial recognition.

And when the Yeahs do it, they do it well. Ignore the pop-prats who infest and infect so much of the charts today, tracks like "Zero", "Heads Will Roll" and "Dull Life" place Karen O above anything which the pathetic whinings of Lily Allen, Lady Gaga or Girls Aloud could muster. Let's face it, if you are going to do dance music the main objective is to get people to dance, not bore them into submission.

Sadly, the album does not live up to its highs all along. The slower numbers often let the album down. "Skeletons" is somewhat ponderous in an overly-delicate sort of way. "Little Shadow" is just plain dull and is not a good end to the album - whoever the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are they are not Sigur Ros. After what was an excellent start, sustained through the first half of the album and into the second, the momentum fails to carry the band forward and things peter out.

But it would be unnecessarily churlish to haul down a good beginning with a saggy midriff and a rather limp ending. While never ground-breaking in terms of originality or even theme, "It's Blitz" shows what can be done when people with real talent turn their hands to a more mainstream style of music. It would be too much to ask for the regular practitioners to sit up and take note, but it would be nice.
Rating: 7/10

Review:

on 2010-04-17 Jonathan_Kroening Said:

Diametrically polished and sincere.

One of two indie albums with electronic leanings to be included among 2009s best is Yeah Yeah Yeahs Its Blitz! (the other being the fourth studio album by French band Phoenix). With its heavily 80s-influenced sound and dance-driven production, Yeah Yeah Yeahs third album likely will sour quickly as the style, while fashionable now, is hardly timeless. Yet the time is now, and the New York trio manage a genuine emotional depth in the midst of shiny new wave tunes.

While the first two tracks could appear to be lobotomized for the sake of danceability, it is precisely the object of the dance floor that fosters an appropriately emotive lyric. In Zero lines like get to know it in the dark and get your leather on point towards the power of dance. There is a feel here that, at least for lead-singer Karen O, the dance floor holds the answers. It seems that by telling us to dance, dance til your dead she is divulging the transcendent secrets of the dance floor.

Skeletons displays Yeah Yeah Yeahs true victory on this album, however, in its attention to dynamics and layering. Even amongst the tall trees of producer Dave Siteks glossy sound, the dramatic overtone of Os lyrics soar above the canopy. Its the profound songwriting that refuses to allow the technicolor coating to choke out its meaning.

Just before the halfway point of the album is Dull Life, a tune that might be implicating consumerisms power to imprison, and its ironically at this moment that self-awareness sets in and we realize that this is a pop album. With standard verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structures and easily digestible melodies, Its Blitz! is largely a rather radio-friendly release. While it doesnt have as much progression and development throughout as some of the other praised albums of 2009, it makes up for this lack of experimentation in its accessibility. It tends to be a release that works quite well as individual singles and while it does maintain a flow, its a bit more predictable in its direction.

Other songs worth mentioning are Dragon Queen for its indie funk and Phoenix-esque club flair and Hysteric as it is rather exemplary to Yeah Yeah Yeahs ability to create a mood and remain honest and organic amid the heavy compression and manufactured sound.

Primarily, the trio are successful here due to a candid blending of human touch and electro-programming. Diametrically hysterical and subtle, modern and retro, Its Blitz! is a feat in aesthetic candor.

3.5 / 5 stars

- Jonathan Kroening
http://www.itsjustmusic.net
Rating: 7/10

Review:

on 2009-06-25 dadair Said:

Review of single Heads Will Roll:
Another dose of provocative disco indie that deals in vocal simplicity that's also slightly laboured, almost sensational and certainly attention grabbing. 'Heads Will Roll', represents Karen O and friend's attempt to convince Festival goers that their hazy, light dance edge is as important to a modern festival as a flushable toilet.

Toe-tapping percussion rhythm helps the build up to O's mild spasms of euphoria, power venting and controlled feistiness, as the sliding guitars keep s the tempo from dropping into a pit of lethargy. The usual quaintness of a YYYs jaunt is still lurking around like a dateless wonder at a disco, but their usual urgency and at times annoying, but irresistible catchiness seems to have been left in the locker room this time around.

You just wonder if Lady Ga-Ga will just have a little too much in the omnipotent femme pop/disco stakes this year, for O and company to demand and capture their usual amount of attention?
Not Rated

on 2009-04-13 kev_stev Said:

kev im not sure if you'd like this album, but if i were to recommend a YYY's album, it'd be this one.
Rating: 9/10

Review:

on 2009-04-13 dadair Said:

Review of Yeah Yeah Yeah's single Zero:
Sonic swirling back beats and Karen Os climbing, provocatively animated prowl continues to dominate the Yeah Yeah Yeahs approach. Zero, features a brazen disco swirl that will add energy to their now infamous live sets, as they continue fatten out their sound with the vocals continuing to rise in profile and punch.

A '(MSTRKRFT Remix)', draws out further the profile of the vocals, giving Os touch an echoing drawl and the backing takes on a more rustic edge. The modern legend of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's will continue to grow.
Not Rated

on 2009-04-13 SolitaryMan Said:

My experience with the YYY's begins and ends with "Maps". Is this album worth picking up for someone like me, or should I start elsewhere?
Not Rated

on 2009-04-09 kev_stev Said:

I'm right with Dennis here. I've never been that into this band, but I think this album is a post-disco, electronica gem. I don't think the single "Zero" is dark at all, though; that shit sounds 100% carefree. This one will probly make my Best Of list this year.
Rating: 9/10

Review:

on 2009-04-08 dscanland Said:

Honestly, I had no expectations listening to It's Blitz. None. My hope for Karen O's band was lost. I enjoyed a couple tracks from Fever but then it was all downhill for me from there. This album is such a treat though. It's got it all. No filler at all. So if you are like me and lost faith in Yeah Yeah Yeah's then I highly recommend picking up It's Blitz. It's money well spent. Karen sounds better than ever. I don't know what kicked her in the ass but her voice is perfect here.
Rating: 9/10