Three years, a major fallout between Karen O and Nick Zinner, time apart, numerous side-projects and relocating to the desolate confines of New Mexico is what it took to make the third Yeah Yeah Yeahs album. Titled It's Blitz, the album drops April 14 (via Interscope) and it already has been talking about what is likely the best album cover of 2009 (sorry Trail of Dead). So after everything they went through what was the answer to all of the friction? Synthesizers, man! Asking one of the greatest living guitarists, Zinner, to get out of his comfort zone and put down the axe seems like a foolish plan but they armed him with a team of synths and turned the album into some risky business.
The first single has now reared its head. "Zero" doesn't completely abandon the guitar (I think I can hear some!) but the stacks and stacks of synths build a pretty massive wall of sound that, as you'd expect, smells a little of new wave, what with the heartbeat drum machine palpitations. I'm not surprised they adapt to this "new sound" so swimmingly - YYY have always kept their music expansive and dynamic, and Karen is as alive as ever, yelling "Get your leather on!" like she knows we want to.
If there were any doubters, well, "Zero" hints that the coming album will get them back to the vitality and explosive energy of their debut.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Zero"
The first single has now reared its head. "Zero" doesn't completely abandon the guitar (I think I can hear some!) but the stacks and stacks of synths build a pretty massive wall of sound that, as you'd expect, smells a little of new wave, what with the heartbeat drum machine palpitations. I'm not surprised they adapt to this "new sound" so swimmingly - YYY have always kept their music expansive and dynamic, and Karen is as alive as ever, yelling "Get your leather on!" like she knows we want to.
If there were any doubters, well, "Zero" hints that the coming album will get them back to the vitality and explosive energy of their debut.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Zero"