07.29.07
It’s not for the cock, it’s for a five track wonder.
‘Is Is’- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
‘Show Your Bones’ is arguably the greatest and most underestimated piece of work released last year. Its preceding single, ‘Gold Lion’, had given an accurate view of what was to come. Gone were the high energy, thundering tracks along with one screaming, sexed up Karen O. Despite this, the trade was completely fair. In return came a far simpler album, often with folk guitars and gentle drumming, which led us straight to the soul of one of the most intriguing female vocalists in the last decade. ‘Maps’ was the only clue from ‘Fever to Tell’ that this New York three piece were capable of the beautiful work seen on their new album such as ‘Way Out’ and ‘Turn Into.’ Now, with the release of new E.P. ‘Is Is’ the gap has been bridged.
The release is comprised of a collection of tracks the band created in between recording their first and second albums and are popular live tracks with the band. As you may expect of a lesser band these are not just tracks that weren’t good enough for either album, they are tracks that would simply be out of place on either release. Opener ‘Rockers to Swallow’ is the closest you will get to the first album with Zinner’s distorted guitars and Karen’s aggressive delivery. However, there is still a difference as the attacking vocals are limited to short bursts, giving the track the kind of pace seen on the second album.
In ‘Kiss Kiss’ you will find what is possibly the most commercial song ever produced by the band. The drums and guitars are kept fairly simple (apart from a irresistible solo from Zinner) to provide a platform for Karen’s vocals, which take the more soulful route on the track. The chorus is also fairly simple with Karen demanding ‘everywhere kiss me’. The fact that this song is fairly commercial doesn’t make it inferior in any way; it just shows another side to the band’s immense writing and creative talent. If the E.P. had been led with this single there’s no doubt that it would be filling the floor at your local indie disco.� �
‘Down Boy’ and ‘Is Is’ are far closer to ‘Show Your Bones’ in their construction. ‘Down Boy’ starts off with a lone, consuming note and hits a slow, gyrating climax two thirds of the way through. It will become classic YYY’s and swiftly proves wrong any claims that this E.P. is just album cast offs. ‘Is Is’ is extremely, maybe too, similar to ‘Déj� vu’. While it is still undeniably a great track, the two are obviously linked to one another so the inclusion of ‘Is Is’ to the E.P. could seem a tad unnecessary to those are not die hard fans.
Overall the E.P. will become a fantastic rarity for big fans of the band. For those who aren’t it still has some classic songs by the band which would have disappeared into obscurity without this release. For the E.P. the band worked with respected producer Nick Launay who has worked with some legendary artists such as Lou Reed, Eric Clapton and Kate Bush. The new production keeps an aura of the live environment in which these tracks were created by giving them a more lo fi feel than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ other recorded work.
The band are said to start recording their third L.P. in the Autumn with release expected early 2008.