Customer Reviews

It's Blitz!

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been more than adept at keeping themselves a fresh commodity since they hit the NYC dance-punk scene in the early part of the millennial decade, their three albums over six years each showing a steady progression and evolution in the trio's distinctive sound. It's Blitz! is, predictably, like nothing the band has done before, trading in the raucous guitar assault of their debut and the more acoustic sounds of sophomore effort Show Your Bones for . . . disco?

Well, not quite. While the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have discovered a newfound appreciation for synthesizers and tasty backbeats on It's Blitz!, the band remains focused on well-crafted melodies, Karen O's distinctive vocals, and an appreciation for an undeniably organic sound that belies the electronica they put to excellent use here. Opener "Zero" starts off with a buzzing synth line and pulsating keyboards framing Karen O's effortless exhortations to "put your leather on." The song's graceful climax and smorgasbord of perfectly out-of-place blips and glitches perhaps make the song a challenging proposition to long-term fans, but its icy beauty and irresistibly catchy chorus, where Nick Zinner's guitar blares out in all its distorted glory, bode well for what follows.

And what follows is easily the best opening sequence Yeah Yeah Yeahs have put together. "Heads Will Roll" balances a menacing disco beat and O's frantic message to "dance `til you're dead" with a chorus and stinging hook that drag you in and don't let go, while "Soft Shock" dials back the energy without letting up on the band's flowing pop sensibility and O's uncomplicated vocals. For a singer who has built her reputation on the foundations of riot-grrl imagery and gritty New York punk, Karen O is unusually at ease here, her voice able to sound naturally in command or vulnerable at points without coming off as too affected.

Such an opening trifecta would be hard for any band to live up to, so it comes as little surprise that It's Blitz! dies down a bit in the middle. "Skeletons" takes the whole electronica shtick to an unnecessary level, washing the song in ambient noise and out-of-place string bits that make a threadbare song a needless slow burner, one that lacks the heart of the epic the band obviously wants it to be. Follow-up "Dull Life" is marginally better, but its up-tempo rhythm and needling guitar sound more out-of-place than anything else on the record, and the song's unusually strict adherence to standard verse-chorus-verse structure cause it to be fairly unremarkable.

But when you're nitpicking songs because they seem "too standard" or "out-of-place," it's because everything else is so damned good. The spooky synths and funky guitar of "Dragon Queen" impeccably mesh O's airy, sexy vocals with the tune's seductive disco strut, and the impressive rock showcase that is "Shame and Fortune" prove that Karen O is hardly the reason for the band's success - just take a listen to Zinner's wicked fuzz-guitar riffing in the outro.

And that's saying nothing about the two gorgeous ballads that close It's Blitz!, "Hysteric" and "Little Shadows." The former has been declared the best song on the record by numerous critics, and for good reason: it's dreamy, hazy electro-rock vibe combined with O's most personal, earnest lyrics of Yeah Yeah Yeah's career make the song a love letter to match 2003's "Maps" and possibly overtake it. O's gentle serenade of the chorus, "flow sweetly, hang heavy / you suddenly complete me, you suddenly complete me" complete the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' transformation from frosty punk rockers to empathetic pop auteurs.

"Little Shadows" is an atmospheric lullaby that closes the record as you'd expect it to be closed, with a placid sigh rather than a bang, a sublime, reflective summation of the album. "Gentle;" "reflective;" "lullaby;" these are hardly words I would have associated with Yeah Yeah Yeahs a few years ago, but given the band's penchant for change, it's not as surprising as it might be for some of their class-of-'03 peers like, say, the Strokes.

"Change or die" has often been a wise maxim to live by, and none have done it as well as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Zinner's characteristic guitar methods, drummer Brian Chase's rock-steady beats, and, most of all, Karen O's simple, relatable lyrics and practiced vocals have given the band repeated leases on life, and with It's Blitz!, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs look poised to enter a new decade as strongly as they roared into this one. We still have eight months to go in 2009, but already this year is shaping up to end the decade in brilliant musical style.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

*"Zero." One of the better (if not the best) tracks on this album. It's a groovy electronic dance song with some good singing/lyrics and good synthesized sounds. Like most of the other songs, however, it doesn't have a very strong guitar or percussion; it's a lot less rock and much more dance music.
*"Heads Will Roll." A heavier dance song with stronger percussion and more intense lyrics. There's also some heavier guitar at the end of the song.
*"Soft Shock." A little lighter dance song, with more upbeat melody and lyrics.
*"Skeletons." A soft track with very little instrumentation. Some wood percussion is used, sounding like bones or something. The melody is uplifting.
*"Dull Life." A great rock song, more in line with other music usually sung by this band. It has a distinctive melody (for some reason, it sounds oriental to me), good lyrics, and strong percussion and guitar. It's cool.
*"Shame and Fortune." Another decent rock song, but with more electronic sounds. Melody and lyrics are great.
*"Runaway." Another slow uplifting track, much like "Skeletons." Has some good percussion at the end.
*"Dragon Queen." A moderate-tempo pop/rock song with soft vocals, good percussion, and some groovy sounds.
*"Hysteric." A slower rock song. Has good vocals and percussion, but is still quite slow and soft.
*"Little Shadow." A much slower song with some guitar and soft vocals. Not bad for the album's end.

First off, this album lacks the crazy energetic rock songs that dominated "Fever to Tell," or even "Show Me Your Bones." Instead, this album resembles something Moby made, not only because these songs are electric dance/chill-out, but also because they are using similar sounds. That being said, the album is not bad on its own merits. I found "Zero," "Heads Will Roll," "Dull Life," and "Dragon Queen" worthwile. YYY fans, or anybody looking for good dance tunes, may find this interesting. But if you're looking for more intense rock, you may be dissapointed.

The cover art on this CD is interesting. If you can't tell (because I didn't figure it out right away), the front cover is a picture of Karen O. squeezing an egg. The booklet includes a few good photos of the band performing. The inside covers are made to resemble a pizza box, and the disc art has the image of a pizza on it with the band members' heads on it. It's quite novel.

Just a few brief comments as others have already stated the strengths of this album in detail.
To my ears this was so different from the first two that I instantly did not like it. After repeated listens however I've found this album to be easily one of the best of the year and certainly on par with their excellent first album.
Maybe it's just her vocals, but I can't but help but compare this version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to classic Siouxie and the Banshees, 1980-81, when they too added electronics to paint their own musical landscape, after evolving from a guitar driven punk act. Granted, the Yeah Yeah Yeah's certainly did not give up the guitar riffs on this album, they expanded their sound and so gave us a quality release.

I have noticed a trend on Amazon.com reviews. Unless you are overwhelmingly positive of a band's album, flocks of diehard fans will freak out and repeatedly label the review 'unhelpful.'

Even knowing this, I have to say: this album is disappointing.

The YYYs raw, guitar-inspired, and entirely original rock has been replaced by smooth synth pop that sounds as if it were meticulously produced. The result is pleasing to the ears but not too original.

As with previous albums, the star of show is obviously Karen's vocals. The thing I was most shocked to hear was the death of her screechy, raw voice. It's been replaced a by smooth sounding croon that has clearly been filtered by a computer. The song 'Hysteric' is appropriately named because her vocals are so Auto-Tuned it makes me hysterical. Seriously, I can't tell: Am I listening to the YYYs or Dido?

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have really tightened and polished up their sound. I enjoyed the sloppy antics of Fever to Tell, but this is really a step up!

This latest release by the group seems much more ambitious than their last effort and a bit more "experimental". Upbeat and catchy are the two attributes that go along with this nostalgic trip back to the early 1980's. If they continue down this musical path, they might be headed in the right direction. Invite some old friends over, put this on, and tell them they're listening to the new release from Blondie or Berlin and they won't know the difference! Having said that, this is much better than anything either Blondie or Berlin have released in recent yeats!

This album is more "pop/dance" and less "alternative" than their previous albums, but it's still pretty good. I especially liked Zero, Heads Will Roll, and Little Shadow.

Pushing aside the jittery nerves of their post-punk attack, Karen O goes to Dance Floor Ice Queen on "It's Blitz!." The Yeah Yeah Yeahs decided to lay down the guitars for the bulk of the tracks here and dig out some vintage synths. Surprisingly enough, it works.

The openers "Zero" and "Heads Will Roll" both are disco sirens, with Karen cooing "get your leather, leather on" as she invites you for a night on the town. But beware. "Dragon Queen" also exhorts you to dance, but the band is back into aggro mold with their stinging guitars back in front of the dancey keyboards. Purists may cry foul, but "It's Blitz" is still unmistakably a YYY's record. When Karen cools down for the stately ender "Little Shadow," you can hear that the band is in control of the proceedings. Same with the bare-bones "Skeletons."

"It's Blitz" was one of the last CD's I picked up in 2009, and the similarities it shares with another disc I purchased at the same time startled me. The Gossip's Music for Men shares plenty of the same ground as "It's Blitz;" both CD's are swimming in the kind of icy dance music of the mid-80's and having a dang good time of it. While I prefer the heartier tone of The Gossip's disc, "It's Blitz" is still a cool listen.

I was a little bummed over the first few sugar coated tracks, but the second half of the CD reveals that softer side of Karen O that you only get little glimpses of here and there in all of their other albums. It sounds like this was more produced than any of their other albums and really geared towards selling big (aka mainstream) but, it's not like their original sound is lost.

A good album overall. Much more electronic rock this time around. I love the title track as well as Heads Will Roll. See them live if you haven't, it's an amazing experience.