Yeah Yeah Yeahs

It’s Blitz!

(Interscope)

Yes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have gone pop, and the people who have fallen in love with the band on the basis of their cross-eyed, jagged rock will be disappointed that little of that cheeky noise has made it onto this record. However, by no means does that make the album a disappointment; following the example of other weird rockers such as T.V. on the Radio (whose David Sitek is a Blitz! producer), the band has made a record with less frays and more structure. So while pop may be a change of pace for the band, with the album’s focus and precision it never feels like an awkward or half baked one.

Even with this change, It’s Blitz! is still very much a Yeah Yeah Yeahs record. Eighties synth and drum machines may be strange to the band, but pop hooks and dance beats have been part of their songs since Fever to Tell (Interscope), and they are merely being taken away from the guitars and put into the hands of the studio. Real instruments do make their way into the mix, but the prominent players of It’s Blitz! are the electronics, and with every beat, hook, and chorus is David Sitek’s characteristic attention to detail. He keeps the poppiest parts of It’s Blitz! from becoming too complacent with his touch for density and richness in sound.

Also keeping things interesting is the fact that not the entire album has its sights on the dance floor. Much of It’s Blitz! is as introspective and tender as the band has ever been, and with some sort of Aesopic virtue many of the slower songs end up taking the lead. But it’s the balance of the subdued with the lively that makes this the most even album the band has made. From start to finish it’s never boring, but the calculation and restraint that has made such consistency has also made few moments of true enticement. All in all, It’s Blitz! is a tame yet playful record, it entertains and pleases but never oversteps it’s boundaries, like we want from a truly great pop album. And while this may keep it from having the most character and ferocity, it also keeps it from hissing or taking shits on the rug, like other more ‘daring’ indie pop.

—geoff anstey