Yeah Yeah Yeahs Album: “Fever to Tell”

I first heard the Yeah Yeah Yeahs when they performed "Y-Control" on Conan O' Brien. Initially, I was blown away by the guitarist, Nick Zinner. But what kept me hooked was Karen O's stage presence. I downloaded the song the next day and played it repeatedly. From there, I read a few reviews of the album and downloaded the song "Maps," which seems to be the critical favorite. I found myself equally impressed. Before actually purchasing the album, I tested out one more song and downloaded the current single, "Date with the Night." From there I knew I had to take the plunge and buy the album. And I must say, I'm very happy I did.

The first thing that impressed me with Fever to Tell was Karen's vocals. A combination of PJ Harvey's range and tonal quality with Bjork's vocal abandon. Her voice warbles, shrieks, and screams through tracks like "Rich," "Date with the Night," and especially "Tick" with an amazing elasticity.

Musically, the album also kept me quite entertained. The sheer energy and fun-loving spirit of the album is enough to perk up even the most depressive music lover. The instrumentation is largely just guitar and drums (provided by Brian Chase), but it sounds remarkably full even without the aid of a bassist. Most of the beats have a cheerful march quality to them and the guitar wails as it's pumped through 2 amps. "Pin" would be my choice for the most musically infectious track on the album.

But where the album falters is in the land of lyrics. There are some genuine gems: "Maps," "Y-Control," "Modern Romance," and the bonus track. Basically, the end of the album is where are the good lyrics are stored. It's also where Karen tones down the vocals and the sweet side of her voice gets a chance to shine. But the majority of the tracks have very sparse, one-track lyrics. If you approach the first portion of the album as a feel-good rocker, you won't be disappointed -- the opening tracks will have you bounding across the room. But if it's lyrical depth you're looking for, you're going to be using the Skip button a lot.

The album is also a little short. Most of the tracks don't get beyond the 2:40 mark. But given the fact that their lyrics are more than a little repetative (Karen seems to have a definite habit of choosing a word from each lyric and repeating it over and over again), this may not be such a bad thing.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a lot of potential in all the areas of music: vocals, music, performance, and (when they want to) lyrics. I'm really interested in seeing where they take things on their second album. Fever to Tell is most certainly worth a listen and, if you like what you hear, a purchase.

is that so many of the people who have this album have now been purchasing it because they saw it cheap at Target or because they saw the video for "Maps" on MTV or because they want some new "punk" cd to add to their collection or sadly enough because they have preconceived notions that every band with a female singer sounds alike. Criticisms are fine, but please give us some well-informed ones rather than "hey, if you like punk, you should really listen to the Distillers instead." Yeah, because this is not punk. It never claimed to be as far as I knew. Also, let's refrain from "the bass and guitars don't sound that good." Yes, possibly because there is no bass and possibly because you're so used to that rhythmic power chord progression that every "punk" band uses and find the guitar playing here a little less traditional in that sense. It's a great album that I would agree for some might be a little off-putting. Karen O's vocals sometimes border on the strange. For me, that's a plus. But it's definitely understandable to listen to something like "Tick" and want to laugh if you're expecting something more straight-forward. Another justifiable criticism of the band is the lyrical content. There's not much to the lyrics, but for me it's not a barrier because even if there are only a few lines of real lyrics in the entire song, the sound of the songs mixed with Karen O's vocals and the sparse lyrical content all equal the general mood and feeling that the album evokes so easily. If you're uncertain or you're planning to buy this because you think it sounds like something else you've witnessed, don't. Go to www.yeahyeahyeahs.com and use the player and see what you think. If you hate it, come back here and give an informed criticism, and it will be much appreciated by actual consumers.

I was surprised to hear such an amazing song playing on MTV. When I first heard Maps I was addicted and had to get this album. Alot of reviewers have said that the single gives a false insight to the rest of the album which is mostly gritty garage rock but this is a true marvel. Althought, it lacks that finishing touch that the White Stripes have today but still this is a solid collection of real punk rock. Karen O's voice is made for punk rock as she growls, purrs, screeches, and softly pours her heart out into every song. The drummer, Brian Chase, creates thumps and trash can like sounds forming into a great backround beat while Nick Zinner adds the zest with his guitar playing, contributing to Karen O's amazing vocals. I do agree with some people that the lyrics do lack substance but most songs are decently written in a punk sort of manner.

Highlights on this album are "No,No,No", "Maps", "Y Control", and "Modern Romance" which all happen to be the last set of songs on the album. Others include "Date with the Night" where she uses her fierce vocals to purr and scream 'Chow' as the unlikely chorus of the song. Another song that is a solid attempt is "Tick" where Karen O opens up her vocals into small 'Ticks' which nearly runs her out of breath a couple of times. "Modern Romance" is an excellent A+ song with Nick and Brian taking a soft turn in their playing and lowering it down to a great beat with Karen desperatly singing about the troubles of a romance. In my opinion "Maps" is the most full out song on the album featuring Karen O's lush vocals accompained by ruff guitar playing by Nick and garage sounding drum thumps.

Overall this is a very solid attempt at an album and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs succeed with great effort.

I was a bit hesitant about investigating YYY, but for once the trashy tabloids like NME heap their praise on a deserving band. Not to say that "Fever to Tell" is perfect, but it's a damn compelling mish-mash of new wave, blues-tinged punk and noisy pop. And then there's Karen O. I guess your enjoyment of the album may depend a lot on just how much of her squealing, screeching, howling, wailing, warbling, yelping, moaning, etc. you can take in a long run. Personally I find her a hugely entertaining vocalist, who sounds even better once she tones down her rock star persona on songs like "Maps" and "Modern Romance", which display a more soulful, sensitive side to her singing. It's mostly for the presence of these last four mature songs that I look forward to what YYY will do next.

There's not a lot left for me to say about this band that hasn't already been covered in the previous reviews.

Just don't buy this album because you heard "Maps" on the radio, because that song does not at all represent the rest of the songs on the album. Just go download that particular song.

If you are into a melange of indie/emo/hardcore or what my brother calls "college music", then you'd should definitley check them out.

Someone called The YYYs "a fad", but I wouldn't catagorize them with all those other bands that wear streamlined, monochrome suits. They have had a strong fan base here in New York for a few years. I know this band isn't going to make it any bigger than already have... most of their songs are not very radio friendly.

Buy this album if you like to drive fast, yell (not sing) along to songs and/or want a female fronted po-mo version of The Clash or if you enjoy the rock stylings of Sleater-Kinney (not because they could both dismissed as "riot grrl" solely on the fact that they both contain girls that rock hard, but because they are both decent bands that offer you something different.)

But to everyone: if you aren't sure about an album, listen to the samples first.