Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz!

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs last album Show Your Bones proved that the group was more than just a gimmick. They were able to tone down the sonic aggression, develop their sound and still deliver captivating songs. Unfortunately, none of those successes are repeated on this album. While SYB saw the group adding acoustic guitars and synths to the mix, It's Blitz! is almost entirely dominated by keyboards, and that's a real shame since Nick Zinn was one of the most interesting guitarists around. This was always this groups secret weapon. Sure, Karen O is right out front with her vocals -and she's a very capable frontwoman, but it was Zinn that added that really made their music unpredictable and was as equally capable of beauty and agression as Karen O.

Unfortunately, none of that is on display here. Instead the songs are dominated by keyboards, and while none are particularly bad, none of the tracks show the sheer joy of "Mystery" from SYB. Instead, this is a fairly restrained and dull affair. After listening to this album more than five times, I can't recall more than half of the tracks. That's never been a problem with the other two YYY albums. The hooks just aren't here.

Opener "Zero" shows promise. It's no coincidence that it's the only song from this album that they played on Saturday Night Live last week. It has a catchy synth hook, and is a genuinely strong pop song. But right after that, things go downhill. "Heads will Roll" tries to keep the party going, but it just doesn't work. "Soft Shock" is even worse and begins to approach irritating territory. By the time I'm listening to "Runaway" I've been so bored that it's hard to notice that this is a pretty song. Closer "Little Shadow" would be a nice bring down if the rest of the album had some life in it. Instead, it just feels like the final disappointment.