By Mike McGuirk
Yeah Yeah Yeahs may be critical faves, and they may have pretty much all the cool kids at their shows, and they may have created an unassailably cool image to boot, but their latest EP, Is Is (Fontana/Interscope), makes it very difficult for those diametrically opposed to such across-the-board-acceptance to write the band off as more empty product.
The first song, "Rockers to Swallow," shows what would have happened if Royal Trux got huge, with Karen O perfectly channeling Jennifer Herrema's rock chick stance without losing two-thirds of the audience in the process (which is why Trux never made it). From there, each of the five songs is stamped with Yeah Yeah Yeahs' now personal and highly identifiable style: midtempo sex music with rad guitar riffs. Sure, these guys came out of the new wave of post-punk NYC dickhead bands emerging during the early 2000s, but, well, even I like these songs - and I hate all new music, mostly.
The tunes were written and recorded during the band's Fever to Tell tour and reportedly amid some serious personal upheaval for all involved. That means maybe their next offering will be lame, or there will never be one. I don't think the former is possible because despite all the hype and exuberant critical acceptance, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have yet to trip over themselves or even make a misstep, whether it be stylistic or sonic. Cool band.
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Comments (2)
I Like the Yeah,Yeah,Yeah's alright but they are a pop band...therefore by definition "making it" is defined by popularity. Royal Trux were a "very real" rock and roll band .....therefore by definition "making it" was never defined by popularity but by Money,QE2 voyages, Concord flights,expensive guitars and fast cars.....they totally made it and made out.
The thing about the Advanced is that they have proven themselves to be geniuses, so it makes sense to trust their judgment, even if you don't understand it right away. Your Specialized Advanced Artists would be the ones that maybe convinced just you that anything they do is great, though they continue to confuse and anger you with their choices. And who knows, maybe they are so Advanced that they never were Overt, so no one got to know them, but eventually the world will catch up, and the band that you love, maybe even hate... Royal Trux, will be remembered as the greatest, most influential band in the history of music.
Posted by daniel vincent | December 12, 2007 10:04 AM
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are anything but pop. Listen to tracks like Art Star, Rockers To Swallow, Date With The Night, Yeah! New York, and Tick. In fact, pretty much all of their tracks have grunge-like, sleezy sounds to them (although they also have softer, acoustic songs). Only Maps could really be considered pop. And even that song doesn't really fit into the same mainstream rock/pop category of real pop bands like Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Paramore, and Simple Plan.
Not to mention, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are like Gods during their live performances. Brian has hypnotic rhythm. Nick simultaneously plays instruments flawlessly. And Karen's crazy on-stage antics and howling screams are simply amazing. So yeah, not pop; their becoming popular was merely an after-effect of their awesomeness.
Posted by Jin | January 9, 2008 12:25 AM