Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Show Your Bones": Aidin Vaziri | Has a band ever felt more disposable than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? In 2001, the New York trio came across like an afterthought to the Strokes, kind of like a cheap novelty act that happened to come from the same town and appropriate the same influences but somehow got it all wrong. On a swirl of hype, the group landed fashion spreads and a coveted spot opening for the White Stripes (its first ever public appearance, no less). But for the most part the Yeah Yeah Yeahs debut album, "Fever To Tell," was a disappointment, hinging almost entirely on singer Karen O's wild personality and a clunky dance-punk sound that might have sounded great in a bar but was ridiculous coming through headphones. That is until near the end of the album, where the group had buried its soul in a bruised, bristling ballad called "Maps." The sleeper hit clearly marked the way forward -- emotion over artifice. Thanks to a pair of high-profile breakups for O (with Liars singer Angus Andrew and director Spike Jonze), the group had no choice. From the meditative rhythm and softly strummed acoustic guitar that introduces the opening track, "Gold Lion," to the evocative mantra that fuels "Cheated Hearts" ("Take these rings, stow them safe away/ I'll wear them on another rainy day"), "Show Your Bones" reveals that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs do self-absorption surprisingly well. The sonic cues on the threesome's second album are richer as well, drawing on the soft-rock technique that works so well for the likes of Radiohead and the Pixies, only with added tribal drums and O's seductive banshee purrs. There's even a brief folky moment in "Warrior," where the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' surrender to convention makes them sound braver than ever. This one is a keeper.