Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! (***)album review for the skinny
Karen O used to be a wildcat, and now she's domesticated
Just like the first wave of post-punk bands a generation ago, the post-punk revivalists of this decade are also turning to synthesizers when their guitars no longer yield fresh ideas. For the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, that means a third album sound plotted somewhere between Blondie, Franz Ferdinand and Gwen Stefani; which, hopefully you've noticed, is two-thirds of a great formula. But just like Franz, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are caught in a conundrum about how to balance their party songs with their introspectives. First album ballad "Maps" shocked everyone by showing Karen O's emotive side, and remains arguably the best thing they've ever written. But a few too many opaque slowies on It's Blitz! short sells Yeah Yeah Yeahs' most attractive quality - Karen O used to be a right entertaining and imaginative radge, and now she's just a wee bitty tame.
Just like the first wave of post-punk bands a generation ago, the post-punk revivalists of this decade are also turning to synthesizers when their guitars no longer yield fresh ideas. For the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, that means a third album sound plotted somewhere between Blondie, Franz Ferdinand and Gwen Stefani; which, hopefully you've noticed, is two-thirds of a great formula. But just like Franz, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are caught in a conundrum about how to balance their party songs with their introspectives. First album ballad "Maps" shocked everyone by showing Karen O's emotive side, and remains arguably the best thing they've ever written. But a few too many opaque slowies on It's Blitz! short sells Yeah Yeah Yeahs' most attractive quality - Karen O used to be a right entertaining and imaginative radge, and now she's just a wee bitty tame.
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