After three years in the dark, fans of the NYC rock collective Yeah Yeah Yeahs finally have something to sink their teeth into. After various deceptions regarding the nature of their new record and its title (specifically one rumor that hinted that the project was to be a concept album about lead singer Karen O's Chilean pet cat), their sophomore effort, "Show Your Bones," hit the shelves last week. But don't worry; it's not of a feline nature.
Rather, what the listener should worry about is the direction that YYYs have taken. Yet another one of the rumors regarding the album was that it would be of an intriguingly folkier nature than their 2003 artsy garage-punk debut, "Fever to Tell." That is not the case either, as "Show Your Bones" seems to pick up exactly where their first album left off. Sadly, not in a good way.
"Fever to Tell" had a sort of funnel feel to it: beginning with massively energetic pro-feminist anthems, it trickled down to a trio of ballads by the end. Whereas the album started off with fast-paced girl-screaming rock 'n' roll, it dynamically concluded with "Modern Romance" - a somberly melodic story of love's tribulations in today's world.
The lead track on "Show Your Bones," entitled "Gold Lion," not only employs virtually the exact same drumbeat as "Modern Romance," but also serves as a segue between the two albums by recreating the same slow-paced feel. Yet, unlike their previous album, "Show Your Bones" is relatively static, and YYYs do not fully bounce back towards the other extreme, despite futile attempts.
Songs on the first half of "Show Your Bones" seem as if they were composed during a YYY identity crisis. From "Gold Lion" through "Phenomena," the listener can bet that at some point throughout each song, guitarist Nicolas Zinner's playing will become edgier as Karen O fluctuates her voice accordingly, as if to mimic the feel of "Fever to Tell." Although each starts out on a much more subdued note, the first few songs invariably move to resemble those of their first record.
Although this demonstrates the versatility of the artists, it either leaves listeners wondering what exactly YYYs are trying to do on this CD or leaves them thirsting for more of their unbridled sound (which is never realized).
Halfway through the album, both "Cheated Hearts" and "Dudley" prove to be catchy and well-made soft-rock songs. Either one of them would probably have made a better single than "Gold Lion," since they better represent YYYs change of direction. The track before "Cheated Hearts," "Honeybear," is of a similar nature. If YYYs had opted for a more uniform direction on "Show Your Bones," the musical nuances of these songs would have been the obvious choice.
The latter half of the album seems to be YYYs' experimental space. The final three songs all begin with acoustic guitar and organic drums. Its effect is folkiness; sometimes, even a deconstructed country-like sound can be heard. Sadly, as with other tracks on "Show Your Bones," they choose to destroy the cohesion of this sound by returning to harder playing.
On the whole, songs on this album are slightly hit-or-miss. While most songs fall into the "hit" category, there are a few that detract from the record. For example, the album begins strongly with "Gold Lion" and "Way Out" but dismally and quickly falls into the annoying duo "Fancy" and "Phenomena." The latter is not only uninspired, but also a grammar teacher's nightmare, as O croons, "You're something like a phenomena, baby." And "Mysteries," which occurs just past the album's midpoint, is a simply superfluous track.
YYYs seem confused. They are unsure whether to completely dissociate their current musical state from their former "Fever to Tell" selves. The aforementioned hook between "Modern Romance" and "Gold Lion" could have realized a perfect transition from the vigorous "Fever to Tell" to the more soft-rock "Show Your Bones," had they not tried to recreate the raw energy of the former album.
It would have been great to see a consistently folk-rock YYYs album - or even a soft-rock one - and it is a shame that they detract from this effort by paying homage to their previous record. But Yeah Yeah Yeahs fruitlessly attempt to do so on every track, the sole result being that songs on "Show Your Bones" seem merely formulaic.
