Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- Mosquito

6/10

I think, for longevity's sake, a band needs to figure out what it does best, and not necessarily stick to that religiously, but use whatever "that" is for some kind of consistent throughline. Yeah Yeah Yeahs were best when they filled an album with high energy songs, with a few ballads sprinkled in. When the music's energy flags, so does the band's potency. That's apparent on their, to this day, final release, 2013's Mosquito.
Sporting one of the worst album covers of the 21st century, Mosquito at first seems to be just a hodgepodge of everything Yeah Yeah Yeahs had done up to that point. The songs aren't great, but aren't bad. However, that energy level: not where it needs to be. When the band does attempt to branch out musically--adding a choir...adding a rapper--it feels half-hearted. I firmly believe that overall genre doesn't really matter when it comes to a Yeah Yeah Yeahs album--only energy and conviction. The band can write a decent song in their sleep. But on this final album, it feels like they are sleepwalking. Perhaps this is why we haven't heard from them since 2013...maybe their hearts weren't in it anymore. Whatever the case, this period, the early to mid-10's, sees that vibrant New York City garage rock-revival/post-punk-revival fully sputter out, with stalwarts TV On the Radio also releasing a final album without a word afterward, and bands like The Strokes and Interpol go radio silent, or fly under the radar for years. Detroit-based bands adjacent to this scene like The White Stripes went kaput, as well.
Movements and even genres can't always last forever. As sceptical as I was of the whole 70's rock genre "revival" movement in the post-9/11 early 00's, I can't deny some classic albums came from it. Interpol's Turn On the Bright Lights is one of my all-time favorites. I can't pretend like I didn't greatly enjoy half of Yeah Yeah Yeah's albums, either. Who knows, maybe at some point in the 2030's, all of this will make a come-back once again!


2013 Interscope
1. Sacrilege 3:50
2. Subway 5:16
3. Mosquito 2:59
4. Under the Earthy 4:18
5. Slave 4:06
6. These Paths 5:03
7. Area 52 2:54
8. Buried Alive (featuring Dr. Octagon) 5:16
9. Always 4:06
10. Despair 4:49
11. Wedding Song 4:54