The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ charge to stardom was not unheralded. Their early EPs cooked up a brew of hype before they unleashed Fever to Tell, a blistering 37-minute sprint that stands as one of the snottiest, most fearless art-punk albums of this decade. Not content to rehash their winning formula, the band gives its sound some polish with Fever’s follow-up, Show Your Bones, due out this Tuesday, Mar. 28. The result is a solid album with an increased focus on melody and songwriting that often evokes campfire sing-alongs.
The first thing you notice about Show Your Bones is its folksy, Western feel. The acoustic guitar plays a prominent role throughout, especially on the twangy “Way Out” and the dusty, alt-countrified “Warrior.” To pull off this new musical aesthetic, lead woman Karen O has reigned in her often uncontrolled vocals and injected them with a heavy dose of melody. Her smooth drawl, coupled with Nick Zinner’s fantastic axe-work, makes closer “Turn Into” the prettiest Yeah Yeah Yeahs song since “Maps.”
This isn’t to say that the record is devoid of rockers. The authoritative “Phenomena” brings the noise with a crunchy delivery, while Zinner’s galloping guitar on “Honeybear” tramples everything in its path. Furthermore, lead single “Gold Lion” proves to be as incendiary as its tinder-toasting music video: the brutal guitar onslaught in the song’s second half leaves nothing but ashes.
Despite its highlights, however, Show Your Bones has its share of problems. A few songs, “The Sweets” in particular, veer dangerously close to the predictable realm of adult contemporary, and some of the album’s punch is dulled by Brian Chase’s simplistic, Neanderthal drum beats.
However, despite these weaknesses, Show Your Bones is a solid sophomore effort that finds the Yeah Yeah Yeahs moving in an exicting new direction.
