Three years since their last album, the lovable trio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, have returned with ‘It’s Blitz!’, and synths.
Zero, the lead single off the awaited album, was the first hearing of the “new” sound that had been talked out. Before Karen O calmy comes in, the song begins with a barrage of synths, having a slight resemblance to Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”. What’s good about “Zero”, is that there is no down time from beginning to end: it’s danceable from start to finish. The song only builds and builds until it reaches the end, Brian Chase’s drums come into full force, Nick Zinner shreds his way into the electro madness, and Karen O dictating “You’re a zero”. An up-lifting and dance-influencing track like this is definetely what we need to escape the gloom of the world, and will definetely lift anyone from the cold floor, to the dance floor. Even notable artists have taken their shot at remixing Zero, including Animal Collective, N.A.S.A., MSTRKFT, Erol Alkan, and recently one by the Remix Artists Collective has found online.
Immediately after the end of the dance-craze, the fun is not over. On “Heads Will Roll”, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs take no time to build-up and jump straight into rushing pool of electronica, a beatdown of synths and Karen O commanding, “Off with your head / Dance till you’re head”.
Because “It’s Blitz” sounds like one of the best albums of the year, it’s difficult to say there is anything at all wrong with it, but it does fall short in a few instances. When you start getting used to spastic electronica of the album, the album starts to strip away the synthesizers, and focus more on the raw sounds of their instruments alone. On tracks “Runaway” and “Skeletons”, you’ll hear the softer side of this dance floor album. It’s not very easy to go from quick, insane up-beat tracks, to soothing and relaxing tracks. However, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs don’t intend to put you to sleep. When “Skeletons” closes out, the song is slowly transitioning into the stand-out track of the album, “Dull Life”. Easily, any old fan who loved the dirty punk sound in the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s early career will find solace in “Dull Life”.
It’s Blitz” ends on a low note, with “Little Shadow”. The song is a sweet and quiet love song, with the distant drum beats and guitar plucking covering Karen O’s voice, and soothingly hums the end of the song, and the end of an album that feels like a privelage to have been able to listen to.
It will take motivation to get used to the new sound for long-time fans who are used to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s original New York punk underground madness, but whether they like it or not, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have once again created another masterpiece for us all to enjoy.
Review by: Norrel Blair
[Rating: 4.5/5]
