Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

So, Yeah Yeah Yeahs have dropped their guitars and went for the synthesizers approach, any fan of the band would have been pretty scared by the prospect of such a thing and after the success of their previous albums, it would have probably been a smart idea to carry on in that format.

It's Blitz! opens up with a magnificent feel good song by the name of 'Zero'. Which has a heavy synthesizer beat floating around Karen O's sweet and romantic vocals which echo her punk influences like Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders. Yeah Yeah Yeahs also prove their development in sound with 'Heads Will Roll' and this song again, has another heavy synthesizer beat dominating the track, further more it's another feel good song which the band captured on 'Zero' and just like 'Zero' it has that party feel and all the glitter to make you feel that you were back in the 70's listening to 'Heart Of Glass'.

Probably the most challenging effort the band has ever made would be in 'Skeletons', which is an epic, sad and notorious love song and no matter what mood you might be in, it will demonstrate some effect of romance and sadness on you. 'Skeletons' draws influences from Electronica and Celtic forms and when you feel the song couldn't hit a higher note of depression, a beautifully placed bagpipe solo rings out and draws the song to a winding close. After 'Skeletons' we are thrashed into 'Dull Life', now this song is what Yeah Yeah Yeahs do best, fast paced punk rock in a slick and furious tone with Nick Zinner's stylish swagger with the six stringed instrument that he earns his corn through.

Towards the rear end of the album, we are plunged into 'Dragon Queen' and in this song, Karen O' produces some flat vocal lines and somehow still sounds simply amazing, and the Synthesizer's still flicker around us and almost reminisces The Who's 'Baby O'Riley'. We move on to 'Hysteric' which further shows the development of Yeah Yeah Yeahs sound, it's basically another cheeky little love song, not to be taken to seriously however, but wonderful in many ways with Karen O's light vocal lines gliding along to Nick Zinner's soft guitar lines and Brian Chase's jazzy drumming. The final song on 'It's Blitz!', 'Little Shadow' is another beautiful ballad, apart from Karen O's fantastic vocals, but the drumming is a particular highlight here, it surges through you like a bullet in your gut and has the dramatic power drumming from 'Gold Lion' which he blasted apart in a million pieces in superb fashion.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have demonstrated that after three albums, they are certainly a band that's here to stay, considering a lot of these so-called 'Alternative' and 'Indie' bands are fading away, Yeah Yeah Yeahs however, show they are rocking and they are dancing and on their third album 'It's Blitz!' they have evolved their sound from fast paced punk rock to new wave/synthesizer rock and how we cannot wait until their next album.

4½ / 5


Linus Broadbent.