Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
By Rinjo Njori

In high school all the "cool" kids talked about a movie called Liquid Sky. The movie starred a very young Michael Hutchence and other than that there's not much to remember about the movie. One other thing, you need to be on acid to understand the movie. Talk about an urban legend. The movie didn't make much sense on acid either, at least that's what I've been told.

Similarly, the Yeah Yeah Yeah's are something of an urban legend. Caught up in the hype of the Lower East Side circa 2000, the group, to a certain extent, rode the coattails of The Strokes to acclaim. One might think it's their talent (which they do have) and one might think it's collective beer googles for everything that fell out of the Luna Lounge in 2000. Just remember, you need to be from New York to get their fashion and no wave version of rock. Even if you don't get them, you can certainly dig them.

On the frantic Fever To Tell, each song ran into the next with abandon. Where those songs seemed more punk rock, these songs seem more calculated and new wave. On Show Your Bones, Karen O is doing a lot less pleading and shrieking and her bandmates are breaking up the songs a little more. Piano instead of keyboards, acoustic vs. electric guitar. Where the music gains muscle, Karen O's delivery suffers. On first listen "Gold Lion" (the first single) and "Dudley" are shockingly dissappointing. "Gold Lion" just sits back and relys on lyrics that could have been written by Ian Astbury or Madonna (circa - Ray of Light). "Mysteries" sounds like bad Television or even bad Strokes. Still it's not a total washout. Songs like "Way Out" and "Cheated Heart" have the hunger felt on the first album. "Way Out" reaches out to Siouxsie Sioux and makes it feel like 1983, before the music gets a little to metal. On the other hand, "Cheated Heart" is nearly perfect with Karen O's singing style perfectly complimented by her band's music. Still there are moments, for instance on "Phenomena" the lyrics "something like a phenomena" recall Grand Master Flash's "White Lines" and reaching back to the rap classic works for this track. "The Sweets" and "Warrior" are a mixed bag: part Polly Jean Harvey, part really bad ballads. If I end up at a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert and they break out the acoustic guitar- I'm out, but I might just be rewarded and feel robbed all at the same time.

"Can You Dig It?" I can for the most part. Still, the decision to sit back and take a breather is pretty radical. There are attempts at real songs here, some hit and some really miss. Still to a certain extent they are trying to make music instead of colour by numbers sound. They are artists; so, for the most part, it should be expected. Thanks for trying.

Labels: Yeah Yeah Yeahs