Fever To Tell

This was a really fun listen. None of the songs outstayed their welcome, a good chunk of them are under 3 minutes. Maps was the standout track by a country mile. The rest was really good, there’s no track I didn’t enjoy. It’s one I’ll definitely go back to at some point but there’s not enough there for it to become a regular listen. Top Track - Maps

Really solid, loved the stripped down production compared with the high energy songs.

Karen O’s voice is what sells this to me. She yelps, snarls, and stretches the words, then suddenly sings something so gently that I start paying attention in a completely different way. I like that she doesn’t smooth out those odd little edges. They make her much more interesting to listen to. The jagged guitars and restless drumming are a good match for her, giving the songs a scrappy energy without making them all feel the same. There’s a lot of fun in the louder tracks, but the quieter moments give the album more feeling than I initially expected. I came for the strange voice and noisy indie rock; the tenderness was a welcome surprise.

4 out of 5. I remember in high school when this album released it seemed really popular. Maybe I should have given it a chance then!

Too hard for me, Plus annoying vocals: too much reverb and the sex kitten crap gets old.

Nice snapshot of the early 2000's. It's not something I'll want to queue up but I'm glad I listened to it.

Her vocals are so good!!! Always loved listening to her. The music is great too. A few standout tracks from being a 5 album, but will always enjoy this band. 4/5

This album falls into a healthily growing group where I know I'm not the audience for it but I'm glad they've made the list. Objectively I would find more music I like and listen to going forward if this was some variation of "1001 rock & metal albums you should hear before you die", but being put out of my comfort zone by other genres can only be good; it's nice to feel well rounded and more knowledgeable about other areas of music, no matter how much of a lie that sentiment is. Indie and garage rock is not a genre I'm overly familiar with, certainly my knowledge isn't enough to draw a line between it and its more-likely-to set-off-metal-detectors cousin that is punk, so getting a bit more experience under my belt can only be a good thing. In the camp of albums I like being on the list but don't inherently like on their own, this is definitely one of the stronger ones. I'm not personally crazy about Karen O's vocals, but they complement the music well and I can see why people would be crazy about them. Likewise I don't particularly resonate with the albums themes but I can tell for listeners that do this would hit well and hit hard. This is a well-crafted album which I am simply not the audience for, but I can see the craftsmanship well despite that.

a joyous listen

Meh album

Peak

Maps is definitely the highlight here

One of the Indie Rock darlings of the 2000's. I knew Maps from random quizzes on the best songs of the era but had never actually heard it before. It's fine, like all of the album really. Bit of an upbeat Punky vibe to it and having a women do the vocals gives it a novelty in a sea of interchangable 2000's Indie Rock. I find it a bit hard to care about this much either direction, but it was a good enough way to pass the morning commute.

Not my taste at all.

It was ok. I wanted to like it more, the other reviews had my hyped to listen, but it just didn’t hit for me.

Крепкий, бодрый, интересный.

Rolling Stone recently published a ranking of the best rock songs of the 21st century — the fact that Olivia Rodrigo landed in fourth place speaks volumes about its quality (the editor-in-chief clearly had to earn that suitcase of cash for his comfortable retirement). "Mr. Brightside" took the bronze, "Seven Nation Army" came in second, and as for who took the top spot — you’d never guess. It’s "Maps", from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' debut album. It’s an incredibly beautiful song, but if you only listen to that track, it’s hard to believe it belongs to this record — the album’s gritty, garage-rock, yet danceable sound stands in stark contrast to the vibe of its most popular single. The cover art captures the mood perfectly: it’s a somewhat crude yet vibrant concoction of sounds — delightfully primitive — over which Karen O wails in a way that sounds like PJ Harvey after having a few too many drinks on a Friday night. A very good album, but these rankings, well...

banger

Punk will never die! The three musicians behind this album—released in the early 2000s—make that perfectly clear. The music is a blend of indie, garage, and punk, sounding both refreshing and youthful. The lead singer’s vocals carry a consistently mocking tone. Right from the start, the track "Rich" tackles themes of money, consumerism, superficiality, and the pursuit of wealth in a sarcastic, provocative way. Driven by screeching, distorted guitar riffs and powerful drumming, "Date with the Night" unfolds at an unstoppable pace. "Pin" is an infectious, catchy track—an absolute dancefloor hit for the youth of that era. "Maps" stands as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' undisputed masterpiece; it is a ballad, to be sure, but one with a rock edge. The hidden track, "Poor Song"—the album’s ultimate closer—takes a quieter, almost folk-inspired turn. In short, the album has a "gritty," "hungry," and distinctly "garage" sound—in the best possible sense—which sets it apart from the more polished, mainstream-friendly peers of the time.

Sound like bigger industry plants than The Strokes. Nah.

Je savais pas que je connaissais déjà "Maps" ! Les morceaux de style garage c'est pas vraiment ma tasse de thé donc l'album ne m'a pas toujours plu, mais certaines chansons valent le coup. 3/5 P.S : J'aime bien le principe que les Yeah Yeah Yeahs aient une chanson qui s'appelle No No No

Not entirely my cup of tea, but it was well produced and a solid album. I felt like the second half was better, but after two albums I really cannot see myself delving into their back catalogue. It is a type of indie that does not appeal to me. Maps was the standout track. 3 stars

Knew this was fire but upon revisiting it still is

- Another album I've listened to a ton back in the day (though there are a couple tracks, I don't really remember), and I think it still holds up... so many bangers on here. - I am definitely into the poppy post punk vibe -- Karen O has so much charisma and attitude, and I really love the more vulnerable songs, as well. - Love the driving bass and the intentionality of everything... including the cool guitar riffs, throughout. - I'm thinking it's a 4.5... I'll probably round up because relistening to this album made me go and get all of their stuff.

Real banger, even without 'Maps'

3.5

A curates album

Didn't like it at all

Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom donew donew donew do.

Een boel gruizig lawaai, met een aanstellerige krijsmevrouw en nerveus beukende drums en gitaar. Veel kraak maar niet veel smaak wat mij betreft.

Eerder gaf ik de Yeah, yeah, yeahs, ondanks de naam, 5 sterren. Toegegeven, met een overdreven bonuspunt. Maar het was een leuke ontdekking. Ik waardeerde dat het toch duidelijke kunstzinnige element niet ten koste was gegaan van de toegankelijkheid. Precies daar gaat het op dit album mis. De punky elementen verstoren het luisterplezier nog al. Terwijl de basis wat minder elektronisch gladgestreken is. Het is heus wel te luisteren, maar heeft vrij weinig in deze lijst te zoeken. Zelfs met deze muziek hebben ze een vergeetbare 3 gemaakt.

De wiki vermeldt als genre oa "art punk". Dat klinkt een beetje als een contradictio in terminis. Maar dat terzijde, net als de jajajas. Zoals ik al bij een eerder album zei (waarom staan ook deze figuren er met 2 albums in??), het is een typisch 00s geluid. Ze hebben op mij destijds geen indruk gemaakt, maar het had zeker niet misstaan op een Lowlands. Garagerock vind ik denk ik een betere omschrijving, al zit er ook wat 80s punk doorheen. Het is wat gruizig en aan de kale kant, door de 3-mans/vrouws-bezetting. Al kun je tegenwoordig met 2 man al een moddervet geluid neerzetten, kijk maar naar Royal Blood among others. Verder heb ik niks toe te voegen aan de review van het andere album. Het klinkt nu al gedateerd. Normaal zou ik weer een 3 geven, maar aangezien ze er 2x overbodig in staan, zou ik misschien wel een strafpunt willen geven. Maar ach, ik vind het dan ook weer geinig genoeg om gewoon die 3 te geven.

Just fine

The sweet sounds of a shitty alternative record store.

Swings from primal garage to indie ballads, but it's all rock and roll

Not for me

O álbum tem estilo e garra. Gosto das guitarras aqui, bem abrasivas e de frente pro ouvinte. Mas os vocais me afastam, odeio esse estilo “manic girl” que algumas bandas dessa época incorporaram. Não me pega nem um pouco. Mas as partes instrumentais dão uma boa salvada no álbum. Por incrível que pareça, o álbum possui algumas faixas onde a vocalista canta igual uma pessoa normal. Canções como Maps e No No No são de fato o grande destaque do álbum. A banda até explorou melhor esse som no álbum sucessor deste. Deste modo, esse disco não é totalmente detestável, e até possui momentos de prazer. Bom. 3.5/5

Yeahhhhh i love Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Previo a escucharlo ya le tengo ganas. No supera a It's Blitz!, pero para ser su debut es un muy buen álbum. Siento que tendría que reescucharlo para disfrutarlo mejor, aunque pienso que podría llegar a gustarme mucho.

wtf is this timing I just listened to this album yesterday! Karen mfin O. I wish I got into them when I was small, though I’m glad I always appreciated Maps. // Floored the whole way through, no skips, lovelovelove endlessly I also recently had a dream I was Maps for Halloween (ie Karen O wearing a fuck ton of maps, including folded accordion style as a bow in my hair, and this may be a sign.

4.5

banger

This is punk and it is gad-awful. I don't need to hear this ever again.

Fun intro into some punk/al rock. Some songs are good, others I can never remember despite having just listened to it

6.5/10

I was initially resistant to this album like a lot of the most hipster-y indie stuff of the early aughts. I wrongly had conflated this with, like, The Shins or Modest Mouse or Snow Patrol and such. I was stupid. This is one of a handful of truly excellent garage rock thrashers of the time (see also, White Stripes, Strokes, Interpol, Arctic Monkeys). It's also unique among them in that it takes what is fundamentally fast, sledgehammer-y guitar work and combines it with a rhythm section that essentially transforms it into dance music. They got even more indie-pop, danceable as they went on, all of which was still pretty excellent. This is where they maxed out, though. "Maps" and "Y Control" are both song-of-the-decade/song-of-the-century entrants. Every other track is an absolute banger with the exceptions of "Cold Light" and "No No No," which are merely good.

Fever To Tell - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003) Karen O is an insane vocalist. Some very good songs on this too and overall a very enjoyable album. ⭐⭐⭐ 6.75/10

The early 00's were rife with repetitious, samesy music.

This is a great album. I love the frenetic energy and rawness, and Maps is an all-timer. Karen is a brilliant rock vocalist. I would rank the more polished 'It's Blitz' above it and there's some pretty dumb lyrics but it's still a really solid 8/10

I liked the first half of the album less than I would have thought but the one-two punch of Maps and Y Control in the second half was wonderful. 4.5

Ok yeah this was fun and I somehow never listened to it before

Not saying it's morally correct, but these guys would have gotten bullied at my high school

I really didn't get into until the back half or so.

Basic punk/garage rock riffs with a singer I could do without. That's an odd thing for me to say, since I'm usually down for out of the box vocals when we're talking about rock and punk. After reading some other reviews of this album, the one song people tend to praise, "Maps," I find to be the least enjoyable. I don't think I'll be giving this one another listen, but it's not as bad as some previous albums I've sat through.

It was a short album and her voice was good at times, but felt screechy at others. It was ok.

Yeah they have a unique sound which is decent

This was terrible and I hate that I had to listen to this. They just sound like an angstier version of The Strokes. Except it doesn't work at all. They just sound super whiny and emo and fake. Just gross. Nothing on this album works well.

A bit like Hole but better vocals. Lyrics are overly repetitive tho. Maps best track on album

This is exactly the kind of rock music I don’t like. It feels uninspired and just people banging chords and talking. I’m sure they have a following but i can’t stand it. It sounds like an annoying little brother

maps is great but album not for me

mid

unfortunate for this album that maps is about a billion times better than the rest of it

What else can I say? Fever To Tell is superb.

bonkers to think that karen o started learning guitar as a winter art project for school and this album followed not too long after. follow your fuckin' dreams and do whatever the fuck you want!! i think the first time i listened to this album i didn't really like it - especially as someone who had be introduced to the yeah yeah yeahs through it's blitz! and show your bones. this album used to sound rough and unpolished... but as i've gotten older it's become my #1 yeah yeah yeahs album bar none. karen o's energy is BLEEDING through every song on this album. it genuinely feels like this album is physically thrashing me around until i get to maps - then it EMOTIONALLY thrashes me with one of the greatest love songs ever written. ugh. love this album. great stuff!!! highlights - rich, date with the night, man, black tongue, cold light, maps, y control

Music to fight by.

Awesome

A forgotten gem!

I actually hate the vocals. Genuinely annoying to listen to. The music, however is great

Energetic, vibrant, punky alt rock. Soooo much color and texture. They have such a distinct sound! Awesome listening experience. Maps has recently had a resurgence online and for good reason.

Banger, this is why Karen-O is an icon. Also, can't imagine how you begin to write some of these guitar lines...

Very enjoyable, raspy post punk. Maps is a banger so is Cold Light

Wait... they don't love you like I love you...

I still don't really get this band. it's not bad per se, it just doesn't really speak to me. is it a millenial vs. gen x thing, despite at least one and arguably all three being firmly in generation x? regardless, it just doesn't feel like it's for me. 3/5.

6/10 No es malo, tampoco es wow. No me aburrido, estuvo bien

It sucked. Don't they all?

While I'm not always in the mood for this, it was a truly groundbreaking album and there are some great songs on here. I really dig the creativity of Nick Zinner's guitar parts. He comes up with a bunch of otherworldly sounds that are totally unique. And obviously Karen O is one of indie rock's most infamous frontwomen, for good reason.

Nothing here struck me as special.

This feels like a more powerful, female-led Franz Ferdinand! I’ve been looking for an album like this for a while, it feels arty enough to have significance, but also fun enough to be an enjoyable listen, there’s almost a heavier Wet Leg sound with the vocals! ‘Maps’ is the big hit, and also my favourite, but the whole album is bursting with passion and energy!

I’m a xennial so it’s kind of weird I’m hearing this album for the first time, but in my defense all I did was rave in 2003. Of course Maps is familiar, but the rest of the songs were all new to me and very good.

bangin

I honestly didn't know Yeah Yeah Yeahs had this sort of thing in them. I had heard It's Blitz! and Maps, but neither of those works really prepare you for how hard YYYs go across this album. It *really* feels like dance *punk*, not post punk, not goth. They have insane performances and sneering lyrics all across this thing. I'd like to specially shout Karen O's utterly distinct vocals here in particular. But, as is proven by Maps, YYYs *can* do pop songs too, And just as well. Maps is genuinely an excellent pop song, and you get to see their chops come through in some of the other later songs here too. But as far as the punk stuff goes, Rich, Date With The Night, and Man is a pretty crazy opening salvo. And songs like Pin and Y Control keep it up. I am *very* impressed by this. I'd say this is honestly one of the coolest albums of it's time and place.

Mal

I think most of this album is pretty good but then Maps and Y Control hit and for like 10 minutes this is one of the greatest albums ever made.

Nice album, not amazing but decent.

I don’t like this at all. One star…

Too similar throughout and uninspired. Not very good.

Quite liked this, but probably would not revisit.

Album #277 Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever To Tell This album is a tough one for me to rate; on one hand you have six songs which are amongst the best of the early 2000s garage-rock revival scene (that being the first two and last four), but sandwiched between them you have six garage-punk outbursts which at best leave me cold, and at worst annoyed. One thing that is for sure, though, is that Yeah Yeah Yeahs feel like a complete product; their aesthetic and sound are essentially what I would expect the average early 2000s indie rock band to sound like: aggressive, yet sensitive. I doubt I would ever consider this amongst my favourites of the era, but considering how strong the scene was, that isn’t too much of an insult, and of course Maps could go head to head with almost any song from the 2000s and stand a chance. Definitely a landmark moment in time, albeit one that is a bit dated. Best Songs: Maps, Modern Romance, Y Control Worst Song: Tick Score out of 10: 6.5

So many of the new bands made their debut in the 2000s sound of their time, cough Strokes, cough. This was not that. Fever To Tell is still fresh, with a constant propulsion from start to finish with a few truly great songs. I will definitely spend more time with this group moving forward.

Sometimes a bit annoying

I was lucky enough to see YYY in 2023, and it was kind of a life-changing show. Needless to say, I've been a little obsessed with Karen O since then (and since watching "Meet Me In The Bathroom"). I love this era of NY music, and YYY is no exception; their debut came out positively swinging. Gritty, angsty, feminine, and in-your-face - what more could you want from an early 2000s punk album? The group shines during "Maps", of course, but I was happy to find several other gems here that I hadn't taken the time to listen to before. Favorite tracks: Maps, Y Control, Modern Romance (an incredible 3-song run)

Great album. No notes.

Not my favorite. Maps rocks but that's about all I got

bad

Lots of good energy on this. I feel like it does fall off a bit at the end and the final track was a bit… Poor. Maps, iconic as it is, does feel really out of place on this album. Really enjoyed the loud songs though.

classicccccc babe !!!!

didn’t realize tht one tik tok song is yeah yeah yeahs

I've never really gotten too into these guys, but I think Karen O is cool and I've always loved the song "Pin" from this album. Also "Maps" is an undeniable classic of course. Favorite track: Pin 3.5/5

not as polished as It's Blitz! but solid. it reminds me of White Stripes + The Dead Weather, which was the rock/blues/punk/raw sound at the time. I think this should've been bigger, but their second album was more polished and refined.

I was a bit out of the loop in the early 00s. I was aware of most developments, but I was not engaged with many of them anything like as much as I had been in the 90s. I have done a lot of catching up and while YYYs might not have earned a place in the top tier of my 00s breakthrough bands (Dirty Projectors, AnCo, TV on the Radio, Strokes, Arctic Monkeys; yes I’m basic) my respect and recognition for what YYYs brought to the table and how important it was grows and grows. A credit to their skills is how it’s only now, sitting down to write this, that I have thought of how they are a trio and Karen O is generally singing only. Experiencing the album, I never find it wanting for impact or fullness. Generally it’s quite the opposite. I’ve never seen them live, but I understand they figured out how to make it just as explosive in that setting too (I guess Karen O is a major factor there). I love how, listening today, while I focused my attention on the instrumentation and production, I still came away (rightly) with an overwhelming feeling of Karen O centerstage. Although here, compared with ‘It’s Blitz’ (which I have already reviewed) she may have fewer pop-ready hooks and is maxing out the screechy punky angle, but her presence is nevertheless magnetic and exhilarating. Hot take: today I noted parallels in the production with that U2 album everyone hated because they were made to own it via apple. I believe U2 have voiced YYYs fandom and on that album they were attempting to get back to their punk roots. Who knows? Not me, just a guess.

I loved Its Blitz and I think I loved this even more. There’s just something so primal about this album. A great rock band with female singer is my favourite combo as well which obviously helps. Maps, Tick and Rich are the songs I already knew. Man, Pin and Y Control hooked me aswell. I would skip a song on the album and I think it’s brilliant.