Yeah Yeah Yeahs Album: “Show Your Bones”

But I am an old dude. A lot of todays music is taken (borrowed) from the recent past. Im in love with this album, but must give props to the appropriate mentors.

Number 1 being Souixxe and the banshees. I hear them in every note and somewhat in her voice. Great stuff though. I am partial to the original band, but this derivative, influence, and or just love of the band has great impact on their sound. History in music comes in 5 years of memory. I am so happy that, and not sure, they meant a tribute to Souixxe. All together a great melodic trip, and very powerful.

The Yeah Yeah Yeah's are really coming into their own on `Show Your Bones', their sophomore release for Interscope records. Moving solidly beyond their early sound, which was immediately something all their own, the band are solidifying their reputation as rock critic darlings, more than that they are proving that they lead the pack. The YYY's have always had sonic experimentation down to a `T', but lacked something in songwriting (with a few notable exceptions such as "Modern Romance/Porcelain"). Here it seems they've toned downed the former somewhat, in order to focus more on the latter. This must be what has caused a legion of indie snobs to baulk at how the YYY's have "sold out" or "lost their edge." Well, you hear this argument for basically every band in history that ever broke through from cult status. It is an old - and almost always groundless - argument and I really just find it boring. In the words of The Libertines "I get along/just singing my song/people tell me I'm wrong.../f*#k `em."

By now everyone knows "Gold Lion" (if you don't then I'm not sure how you happened upon this review). The song structure is perhaps the simplest in the YYY's catalogue, with the four chord progression continuing straight through the whole song without changing. Karen`s exquisite "ooh ooh`s" undoubtedly cement it`s lead single status. The solo is simplistic by Nick Zinner's standards, but that doesn't stop it from blasting off at you like a rocket ship. This is another psychedelic "pop" masterpiece from those who brought you "Maps."

"Fancy" starts out with pounding drums that immediately draw you in. Twenty seconds in the drums are joined by slow, heavy, pounding guitar chords that sound like if Sonic Youth covered a Link Wray instrumental. Then Karen joins in "I find it in the atlas/we're flipping over old news/check what's in the trash bag/we're just another part of you/we're just another part of you/I beg your pardon/beg your pardon/beg your pardon..." before letting loose a scream to rival "Art Star." This goes on for two verses before an incredibly liquid-sounding wah wah effect introduces the quieter bridge which serves as only a short hiatus before launching back to the slashing guitar and pounding drums of the intro, which slam you right home. This song is hardly being mentioned in reviews, which is criminal as it's one of the best on the album.

Next up we find Karen singing with her by now trademark charismatic self-assured attitude. Is she talking about herself in the chorus, or sarcastically putting someone down? Either way it's immediately a favorite and you can't help singing along with "you're something like a phenomena baby/something like a phenomena." The guitar here is almost brain-dead simple, in the tradition of early Neil Young - especially in the middle part of the song where Nick just keeps rhythmically hitting the same note about 50 times in a row.

"Honeybear" opens spectacularly with the bass drum pounding out a beat and Karen singing "turn yourself around/you weren't invited/good good things happen in bad towns" backed by a guitar that just doubles the melody she's singing, until the whole band crashes in and rocks along to the bridge. Brian Chase shows great chops in the middle breakdown, sounding like an heir to Charlie Watts' throne.

"Warrior" begins as a gentle, catchy acoustic ballad, but slowly speeds up and builds to anthemic status by the end. It also boasts perhaps the greatest lyrics Karen O has yet to pen.

"Now the strangers have caught on

And they're riding in the backseat.

The river's gonna watch all,

Yeah the river it spoke to me.

It told me I'm small,

And I swallowed it down.

If I make it at all,

I'll make you want me."

The most popular translation of the "strangers riding in the backseat" is that of people who finally caught on when the band hit it big with singles like "Maps" and now "Gold Lion," versus those of us who have championed the band from the first EP. However, I think the whole song is about the record industry. The strangers are really record execs who must have screwed the YYY's over in the past, when now they've turned out to be a success. Of course, not such a success as to rival pop giants that make record companies the real money, therefore the record industry here is the "river" telling Karen not to get a big head yet, she still is a relatively small fish.

"I know what I know" Karen tells us in the closer, "Turn Into." What is it that she knows? "I'd like to tell you all about it..." but she's interrupted by a simple Nick Zinner solo, augmented by an otherworldly fuzz effect that sounds like the noise you'd expect a UFO to make. His electric rhythm guitar work here is amazing as well, it took The Edge at least 10 years to get half this good. This is another slower, ballad-esque tune and closes the album perfectly.

When this first came out, the songs were so addicting it didn't leave my car's CD player for weeks. Now, months later, I am still listening to it in steady rotation. I may not have mentioned every track, but they are all good. The songwriting is much better and the musicianship, which has also been light years ahead of any of their contemporaries, is getting even more adventurous while at the same time getting simpler, if that were possible. A more pretentious music snob than myself would just complain that they've sold out, and proceed to list all the indie/underground bands that you've never heard of which the YYY's have supposedly "ripped off" (and I see quite a few indie snobs have done just that) but I prefer to let myself just enjoy damn good music when I hear it. Anyway, just listening to this album is enough every time to make me want to go postal worker on my boss for not letting me have the night off when these guys came to Cleveland last. There's no way I'm missing them next time around.

Show your bones is definitely a more melodic and less punky album than Fever To Tell, but it's just as likely to grab a hold of you. As always, critics and fans are hesitant to embrace this new sound because it's different than the previous directions the YYYs have taken, and likely because such a high bar was set for the band when Rolling Stone compared their innovative sound and style to the impact the Velvet Underground had on the 60s garage scene.

Show Your Bones showcases how the band is continuing to grow into itself. The driving counterpoint between the vocals and guitar is more powerful and effortless than ever before, and Karen O has taken her creative vocals to another level, using her trademark screams, moans, cries, and whispers less for emphasis and shock and more as melodic tools. The result is a sound that fits so well together; songs that are melodically simple but remarkably compelling.

The most interesting songs on the album are Phenomenon, Warrior, and Cheated Hearts. Phenomenon showcases some surprising hard rock/blues guitar style, contrasting with siren-like moaning. Warrior showcases almost alt-country song style and mournful story-telling, another suprising style choice.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs always have a song on each album that includes self-referential commentary on how the media and their fans seem to be perceiving them. On their self-titled EP this song was Our Time, and its anthem was "it's the time to be hated; I'm glad that we made it". The corresponding song on Show Your Bones is Cheated Hearts, and its anthem is, "I think that I'm bigger than the sound!" I have to agree.

It's clear right away that "Show Your Bones" is a much more subdued album than "Fever to Tell," with melody at the forefront and very little of the screaming and thrashing that powered Yeah Yeah Yeahs' debut. That's all well and good. There are a lot of excellent songs here ("Gold Lion," "Way Out," "Cheated Hearts," "The Sweets") that would not have been possible without the band breaking out of their former mold.

The news isn't all good though. Some of these songs would have been more palatable at 1:45 than at four minutes. Also, the more polished production, while well-suited to a song like "Gold Lion," tends to dull the impact of the more rocking songs like "Phenomena." In fact, the guitars seem strangely muted throughout the whole album. I don't know if it was an intentional production choice or not, but the guitar parts just never sound as bold and immediate as they should, leaving the drums and vocals to drive the songs instead.

Overall, "Show Your Bones" is an artistic success, but a little more of the rawness and swagger of "Fever to Tell" would have made it even better.

Words that describe the Yeah Yeah Yeahs sophmore attempt: Loud. Graceful. Passionate. Infecious. Excellent.

The CD takes a needed turn from their equally excellent album Fever to Tell, and it is clear that the band has moved on. The songs are more mature, yet still have an edge. Musically, the band members have grown, the drum, keyboard and guitars move well with the songs. Karen O's voice has also improved, and that is clearly shown on songs like "Turn Into."

The best songs on the album: "Dudley," which is slower, but doen't lose its alternative edge. "Cheated Hearts," which escalates into the line, "sometimes I think that I'm bigger than the sound..." which becomes one of the most memorable lines on the album. I would compare it to "Y Control" on the YYY's latest album. "Honeybear" is fun, upbeat and hilarious. "Turn Into" is slower as well, but beautiful.

If you're a fan of indie rock with a punk persuasion, do yourself a favor and pick up this CD.