Yeah Yeah Yeahs' newest release tough to endure

Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs second full-length release shows a new vocal range of lead singer Karen O that goes against their previous work and subsequently fails.

By Jordan Hickey

Published March 24, 2006

It had always been my impression that bands good enough to sign a contract with a major record label would have something more to offer than those of the underground.

Distinguishable sounds, lyrics filled with originality and emotion and, least of all, talent, are traits often associated with such bands.

But evidently, based on what is heard on Show Your Bones, the sophomore LP of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I find myself disillusioned and sadly mistaken.

About two years ago, I was introduced to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' debut Fever to Tell and the band's 2001 self-titled EP. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs had a sound unlike many bands popular at the time, with lead singer Karen O howling along to fuzzy guitars and punk rock drums.

Since that time, I have always fervently supported the band's work, but I simply can't do so with this latest release. There is something subtle about the album that induces a heaving sickness.

On the album's opening track "Gold Lion" the band starts out on the wrong foot. The track lacks the character that early releases once had, because the band relies on efficient studio polish. The lyrics ("Gold lion's gonna tell me where the light is/Take our hands out of control") are inane and the sound excruciating. Unfortunately, not much changes as the album continues.

My main qualm with this new album is the quality of lead singer Karen O's voice. On Fever to Tell, her distinctive voice had a reckless sound seldom heard in the industry.

It was essentially what made the Yeah Yeah Yeahs popular and helped the band stand out among contemporaries.

With the new album, specifically heard on the tracks "Honeybear" and "Mysteries," Karen O's newfound vocals will induce copious bleeding from the ears. I would strongly recommend simply skipping both tracks.

I have difficulty in finding anything about Show Your Bones that I truly enjoy, but there is one track that did stand out among all the aural atrocities committed by the album. The ninth track, "Sweets," is a welcome change from almost all of its predecessors and its successors, for that matter. This track illuminates a sweet, lulling roll in Karen's voice rarely seen on this or previous albums.

Thanks to these flaws, no plausible comparison can be made with the band's previous work. In the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' quest to make something new and original, the band has gone too far and O's voice has mutated from something distinct into a sordid abomination of nature.