by Alana Janelle Mauger
Editor, Kismet Break
Although released in early 2009, I neglected to include the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “It’s Blitz” in my 2009 wrap-up. Or perhaps it was meant to be that the NY trio has a post to itself—it is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs after all.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their third major-label album (fourth overall, five if you count the EP “Is Is”) in March 2009 to critical acclaim. Spin magazine called it “the alternative pop album of the decade,” later placing it second on its list of best albums of 2009. UK free music magazine The Fly called the album “an amazing return for [the] Yeah Yeah Yeahs” and “an instant classic,” while the BBC said “It’s Blitz” is “a triumphant return for New York’s finest.”
Some fans (myself among them) were more skeptical. Synthesizers seemingly replace much of Nick Zinners’ amazing guitar work, although on closer listen, it’s still there, as is Brian Chase’s accomplished beats. More appropriate for the dance floor than a punk show, I was sold on the new sound when the band pulled off an exhilarating performance of “Zero” on Saturday Night Live in April (sounding good on SNL is a feat in itself, but I digress). Needless to say, Karen O. is one of the most dynamic female singers of her generation.
Perhaps it took me some extra time to warm up to “It’s Blitz” because I was (and still am) completely enamored with the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s previous album “Show Your Bones.” All but shunned by critics who viewed it as a step backward from “Fever to Tell,” “Show Your Bones” has secured a seat on my personal top 100 albums of all time list.
“It’s Blitz” might not make my list, but it continues to position the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as a venerable presence in the world-wide music scene.
