Yeah Yeah Yeahs - ShowYour Bones

Sun 4th Jun, 2006 in Music Reviews

In a market crowded with indie-prog-punk-synth-alternative-rock groups it’s hard these days to sort through the multitudes and find something that captivates your ears. Nick Zinner, Karen O and Brian Chase splashed onto the New York City music scene in 2000 as alt-rock group the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and have successfully managed to wade through the masses and get their music to the people.

Their first release consisted of two EPs: a self-titled in 2001, followed by Machine in 2002. Fever to Tell, the band’s first complete album was released in 2003 and although the sales have not been huge, they’ve collected a solid fanbase as their exposure around the globe continues.

I was initially hesitant when I first listened to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs; knowing they had a female singer dampened my view of them as I’m not a big fan of female-fronted rock groups. The select few amongst my collection consist of Beth Ditto (The Gossip), Patience Hodgson (The Grates), Brody Dale (The Distillers) and PJ Harvey. I was sincerely surprised by Karen O’s voice: her ability to change her voice to suit  three or four genres on one album is amazing. Her voice is clear, and young, and perfectly suits the disparate tempos served up on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ latest album Show Your Bones.

The key to the success of Show Your Bones (released in March of this year) is that after you listen to it you don’t feel as though you’ve listened to eleven songs that sound exactly the same. There are heavy guitars and fierce distortion in songs such as (first single) ‘Gold Lion’ and ‘Fancy’, but there’s also more acoustically based, innocent moments like in the sentimental ‘Warrior’.

As I mentioned earlier the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ability to be incredibly diverse over the span of just eleven tracks is what makes them stand out. A lot of bands change their sound over a course of a career; the Yeah Yeah Yeahs do it with ease over the course of a few songs. If for nothing else Show Your Bones is well worth a listen to witness the varied nature of an album that is honest and truely original.