Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- It's Blitz!

8/10

I gave up on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs after 2006's Show Your Bones. I thought that ablum was a play-it-safe follow-up that got rid of most of what I liked from the band's debut. Yeah Yeah Yeahs were originally marketed as a sort of post-punk garage band, but their second album felt like a toned down corporate product. When I heard their 2009 album was going to essentially be a dance album, I had zero interest. Just about every other band I'd liked had put out an underwhelming album that year. This was just par for the course.
At that time, I was using this now fairly obscure online MP3 store, 7digital, to get some of my music. 7digital frequently held some pretty crazy sales, and at some point late in 2009, they were selling Yeah Yeah Yeahs newest album, that one I'd heard was a bunch of dance music, It's Blitz, for only $3. Feeling little risk (but also little possibility of reward), I shelled out my $3. Much to my shock, just a few tracks in, I found my entire opinion of Yeah Yeah Yeahs rearranged. This music...is good. 

So I didn't like 2006's Show Your Bones. The music on that album isn't bad. It just isn't that exciting and it's not really my cup of tea. Turns out all I need for Yeah Yeah Yeahs to go from "pleasant enought" to "really fun" is them injecting some energy into their music. A more laid-back vibe doesn't quite work as well for this band (at least for me), but speeding up the tempo, and amping things up overall just makes them feel more essential. 

Yeah Yeah Yeahs songwriting is always generally solid, and It's Blitz! keeps that going. The increased usage of loops and electronics and a dancier vibe almost don't make a difference here (though the diverse textures and atmospheres they explore through that sound certainly don't hurt). The difference-maker here is that the band feel energized. With that caffiene packet tossed into the drink, It's Blitz is a joy. It's nice that at least one band decided they'd be louder in 2009 than quieter. That energy puts It's Blitz right there on the level of Fever to Tell. One could almost even argue that it's better...


2009 Interscope
1. Zero 4:25
2. Heads Will Roll 3:41
3. Soft Shock 3:53
4. Skeletons 5:02
5. Dull Life 4:08
6. Shame and Fortune 3:31
7. Runaway 5:13
8. Dragon Queen 4:02
9. Hysteric 3:50
10. Little Shadow 3:57