I have been waiting what seems like an eternity for this record to drop, but all this waiting around has been worth it. Yeah Yeah Yeahs have avoided the dreaded sophomore slump and have produced an album that is dirtier, sleazier, and grimier than Pete Doherty's toilet seat. We had fair warning that Show Your Bones would not be another Fever To Tell, ["I think it's really important to us that it's not Fever to Tell, Part 2”].
From the get go songs such as “Gold Lion” and "Dudley" show that Yeah Yeah Yeahs have lost none of their talent to produce sexy songs that spit in your face. Twisted songs such as "Honey Bear", with hooks that grab you by your nuts and cut you open with dirty razor blades. “Cheated Hearts” boasts every variation of electrified Americana you can imagine.
The subtle romance of Fever To Tell has grown into pure unadulterated lust. Show Your Bones is a much fuller and grander album but has lost none of the punch and grime of its predecessor. It is everything a second album should be and makes you remember why you fell in love with fishnets and applying makeup in the dark. While Fever... hissed and spat its way through your eardrums, ...Bones is the mangled aftermath – a defiant, wounded collection of world-weary rock. Sure, it's a surprising turnaround, and die-hards might dismiss the band as being a dismal shadow of their former selves, but one listen to “Phenomena”'s slinky soul or the bruised twang of “Warrior” will have hipsters clamoring for Karen O's latest haircut faster than you can say “Well of course I prefer their earlier stuff.” The record certainly does not lack the unique seduction through almost growling noises and moans, or the guitarists interesting patterns of repetition that we have grown to love. The spiky Nick Zinner guitars and the clobbering Brian Chase drums are still distorted and the drums still heavy-hitting as ever.
Like Yeah Yeah Yeahs were ever going to shirk away from the challenge of a second album! Show Your Bones is a determined follow up to the sassy, firebrand punk of its predecessor, enough removed to neatly sidestep direct comparison and intriguing enough to warrant an inquest. |