Yeah Yeah Yeahs
It's Blitz!
2009
The individual performances here are solid and the album is certainly well-produced although I'm not sure what sound the band was going for. What makes "It's Blitz!" a so-so album for me is that, overall, the songs aren't particularly interesting or arranged with much creativity. Lyrically it doesn't offer much more than the sort of club-pop that sections of this album seem to emulate.
The first three tracks are great before the pointless "Skeltons" stretches Karen O far beyond her already limited vocal range and kills the established momentum. "Dull Life", again, isn't arranged much better than your average garage-rock banger but is saved by points of memorable percussion and vocals.
At this middle point of the record it gets dicey. "Shame And Fortune" is a b-side if I've ever heard one while "Runaway" I found to be a surprisingly mature highlight. "Dragon Queen" shows promise with it's opening of funk-influnced back beat but goes nowhere. "Hysteric" offers some sweet melodies from Karen O but not enough to forgive the horrible, Jerry Maguire-esqu lyric "You suddenly complete me". "Little Shadow" is extremely bland and, sadly, ends the album on the completely opposite end of where it began.
I'm puzzled as to why "It's Blitz!" appeared so regularly atop best-of-2009 lists from 'reputable' publications. I wouldn't call it a bad effort by any stretch but I believe Yeah Yeah Yeahs growing hype preceded the actual product with this one.
Best Tracks: "Zero", "Heads Will Roll", "Soft Shock", "Runaway"
Additionally, I've seen many reviewers mention the "80's nostalgia" angle to this record and I have to say that I strongly disagree with that notion. Simply because the band introduces more dance-friendly production to their drum sounds and uses keyboards heavily does not make it a throwback album. Certain aspects of 1980's culture are experiencing a resurgence now in popular music which is likely why groups like Passion Pit, Phoenix and Cut Copy (along with this record) have become noteworthy.
The first three tracks are great before the pointless "Skeltons" stretches Karen O far beyond her already limited vocal range and kills the established momentum. "Dull Life", again, isn't arranged much better than your average garage-rock banger but is saved by points of memorable percussion and vocals.
At this middle point of the record it gets dicey. "Shame And Fortune" is a b-side if I've ever heard one while "Runaway" I found to be a surprisingly mature highlight. "Dragon Queen" shows promise with it's opening of funk-influnced back beat but goes nowhere. "Hysteric" offers some sweet melodies from Karen O but not enough to forgive the horrible, Jerry Maguire-esqu lyric "You suddenly complete me". "Little Shadow" is extremely bland and, sadly, ends the album on the completely opposite end of where it began.
I'm puzzled as to why "It's Blitz!" appeared so regularly atop best-of-2009 lists from 'reputable' publications. I wouldn't call it a bad effort by any stretch but I believe Yeah Yeah Yeahs growing hype preceded the actual product with this one.
Best Tracks: "Zero", "Heads Will Roll", "Soft Shock", "Runaway"
Additionally, I've seen many reviewers mention the "80's nostalgia" angle to this record and I have to say that I strongly disagree with that notion. Simply because the band introduces more dance-friendly production to their drum sounds and uses keyboards heavily does not make it a throwback album. Certain aspects of 1980's culture are experiencing a resurgence now in popular music which is likely why groups like Passion Pit, Phoenix and Cut Copy (along with this record) have become noteworthy.
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