Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2003
Album Summary
Fever to Tell is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released on April 29, 2003, by Interscope Records. It was produced by David Andrew Sitek and mixed by Alan Moulder. Four singles were issued, the first being "Date with the Night" followed by "Pin", "Maps" and "Y Control". Fever to Tell was both a critical and commercial success; it has sold one million copies worldwide.
WikipediaWicked vocals from a talented female singer, high energy sound, loved it. Want to listen again.
The first word that comes to mind when describing this album is "fun." It's all kinds of post-punk, neo-grunge, alt-rock, fem-fronted fun. It's pretty much right up my alley. That said, it does get docked a star because some of the songs have amazingly dumb lyrics while others have amazingly brilliant lyrics. But, overall, it's a super great record.
Maps is really the only thing this album has going for it and it's a good song, not a great one. The rest is mostly the worst aspects of indie meets a really toothless brand of punk rock I suppose you could call it. Karen O has a pretty good voice. The other guys are...present. It's a shame the band didn't write more than one decent song for her to sing.
This is an album that seems to be magically created. Everything works, and the three of them just have an out of world chemistry. An absolute superb and instant classic from the golden age of indie.
Great early 00's rock album. Rich is a really good punk song. Early album is filled with some good punk music, but they kind of run together a bit. Maps and Y Control are stand outs for sure
That's interesting to know this album and nowadays it's absolutely obvious their influence on modern rock songs. However, listening to it today, I can't see so many qualities in these songs. They are nice to listen to, but nothing more.
The worst type of indie music, all drums and attitude but with very little soul.
Yeah yeah yeahs, I know Karen O, and two fellas Amazing wall of noise.
Exciting album. Exciting times! Part of the Post Strokes/Hives breaking the indie wall and making music fun again. Big Beat and electronica no longer felt new, Nu Metal was getting old and indie was all Radiohead/Jeff Buckley sound alikes. A frantic call from a friend in New York, sent me to see one off show by them in 2001 at the Annadale Hotel. It was a blistering performance and I was amazed by all the sounds coming out of Nick Zimmer's guitar. Karen O was a front woman extraordinare and had a whole room of people who knew maybe one song if that eating up the worthy hype. So this album captures that night perfectly. The production really captures that energy and style and makes this a perfect debut. Date With Night and Maps couldn't be two more different songs and that extreme is one of the things that still has me loving this album nearly 20 years on
Riding on the early wave of New York indie bands with their contemparies the Strokes, Interpol and the Walkmen, the YYYs and this album provide a positive nostalgia kick. The album opens with a bolt of energy, dips slightly in the middle before hitting hard with two indie disco classics (Maps & Y Control).
I mean, it rocks, and it's tuneful. But it feels rather Pitchfork-y, and maybe not something that will resonate in 20 years. I might listen to again to see if I'm wrong.
Whoever said this group was “Led Zeppelin with estrogen” (e.g. John Pareles, Nick Kent) was way off. Karen O has nowhere near the range or blues sensitivity of Robert Plant. Nick Zinner can’t touch Jimmy Page. Brian Chase isn’t in the same universe as John Bonham. Having no bass player (Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be a lot better if they had one) there’s no way to compare John Paul Jones. And as a group, they’re too mechanical. YYYs completely lack LZ’s dynamic vitality. So let’s just quietly set aside the Led Zeppelin comparison, intending no offense to politically correct critics desperate to promote a “female rocker” (which is almost an oxymoron, anyway). On its own merits, the album is interesting enough, worth a listen, even if just for the sake of gender diversity. But I myself have heard (indeed played) better ‘garage rock’ and ‘garage punk’ in actual garages. I give it a ‘two’.
Lead singers voice felt too try-hard and put me off a lot of the songs. Sounded like a continous soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim. Best track: Y Control
Looking at the album cover, I'm gonna establish a baseline of 2/5 and go from there lol. aaaand it's noisy indie alternative stuff. At least the music matches the manic album art... I guess? Lots of processed vocal theatrics, and everything is buried in the mix underneath the singing and drums. It's like they heard the White Stripes and decided they could do the same, but ignored the good songwriting and instead dialled the oddest, most manic bits up to 11. So the end result is all the annoying loud tendencies of indie rock and nothing else. It has a really bratty lyrical cynicism to it that just seems fucking childish, too. "ha ha here's an angry lyric but it's done with a cutesy girly squeal!" uuugh spare me the beautiful disaster/harley quinn routine, loser. The 2/5 stays.
IM SO HAPPY THAT THIS IS HERE THERE ARE TEARS IN MY EYES RN HUHUHUHU i am sort of validated that i have good taste in music hahhahaha
Ya conocía este álbum desde hace años (de hecho algunas canciones las tengo entre mis favoritas), y me sorprendió mucho encontrarlo aquí, porque así tuve la oportunidad de escuchar el disco completo de nuevo. Desde el punto de vista musical, me gusta el tema "estridente", como metálico, que le dan a los instrumentos y la voz. Es un sonido "casi" saturado, pero que no es para nada cansado. Otra cosa que me gusta del disco es la combinación de canciones tan frenéticas y alocadas como Date with the Night o Tick, pero también temas serios y tristes como Maps o Poor Song, sin embargo esto no hace que las canciones sean menos energéticas. No sé por qué no había escuchado este disco completo de nuevo desde hace tanto.
Fantastic album, love it. Fave three track sequence = "Maps" -> "Y Control" -> "Modern Romance".... so good!
Incredible from start to finish. The pace is incredible and it just doesn’t let up.
Amazing! Not as big of a fan of their later electro work but this album is right in my wheelhouse
Great and successful debut album of the successful band! So energetic!
Una obra de arte. Canciones cortas en su mayoría, pero que no les falta nada. Simplemente te llena de energía
A friend of mine years ago made me a mix tape, and on it was the song “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I loved that song, but never further investigated the group behind it. I’m glad to have the opportunity to rectify that now. FEVER TO TELL is a gritty, passionate carnival of song lead by an incredible snarling, cooing, moaning, screaming vocal performance by Karen O supported mostly by grinding guitars and pounding drums. The opening number “Rich” was exhilarating to me as the album opened, then “Date With The Night” amps things up a few notches with some incredible vocals shouting ‘CHOKE CHOKE CHOKE CHOKE.’ Then in a 1-2-3 punch Karen O takes it up another notch in “Man.” WOW what a song. She punctuates the song with this sort of falsetto that is incredible. “Tick” follows and seems to just rocket the album forward. The energy is incredible as she ‘tick tick tick tick ticks’ and ‘loo-oo-oo-oo-ooses’ her way through the song. The ‘tick tick ticks’ at the end are incredible. Karen O is constantly surprising to me - witness “Black Tongue’s” ‘uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh-ooooh!’ The lyrics are a lot of fun too, ‘boy you’re just a stupid bitch and girl, you just a no good dick.’ More fun ensues in “Pin” with the crazy ‘bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, dunno, dunno, dunno, dunno’ lyrics. “Cold Light” has such a great opening. A slower song still with all the energy. “No No No” has a great slow-fast thing going on. By the time I get to “Maps” it was so exciting to hear those opening drums again. Funny in the context of the album it is one of the quieter songs thus far. It almost feels like Karen O is holding back on this one. “Y Control” continues along that energy level, then we get “Modern Romance,” a softer almost intimate song, followed by “Poor Song,” a really quiet, almost dirge-like ending to the album that brings the whole thing to a quiet, sudden stop. This was a lot of fun to listen to. I also love looking at the album cover. Absolutely loved it!
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah! I'd already been listening to some Karen O. recently. This is great. A lot rawer, but I like my music raw.
So of all the albums/genres i'm discovering and loving for the first time, i've realised most are punk-rock. Raw, dance-indie - this is now downloaded as an instant pick me up on the bleakest of days.
Un álbum que me sigue emocionando todavía. No sé cuántas veces lo repetí cuando era adolescente. Muy top de inicio a fin. 10/10
Este álbum para mí ejemplifica a la perfección que todo tiempo pasado fue mejor :,)
Wow, this is awesome! I was not expecting that from the cover. There's just so much energy, the screechy guitars, the crazy yelling vocals and lyrics. Favorite tracks are: "Pin", "Date With The Night", "Y Control". Very strong 4/5, maybe even a 5/5.. depends how I'm feeling tomorrow morning.
This album was part of the garage rock revival movement in the late 90s and early 2000s. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs combine fuzzy rock elements with art punk to form an exciting driving music that features the extraordinary vocals of Karen O. A lot of the elements here can be heard in later indie rock music yet it still sounds fresh to me despite being over 20 years old.
An alt classic Stand out tracks - black tounge - maps - Y control - Date with the night
I mean, it's just f-ing cool isn't it. Twenty years old, who would have thought!
At the time I thought Fever to Tell was an astonishingly good debut both in terms of the music but also the style of the band. I enjoyed the following 2 albums, but then hadn't thought of them since. Revisiting their debut many years later and it hasn't lost any of its urgency and cool. Love it.
Nice changes of pace in these tracks but they always maintain the post punk energy. Siouxsie and the Banshees meets The Pretenders. Simultaneously sophisticated and uncomplicated.
Never heard of the band before but I love it. Exactly the kind of music I love. Will be checking out the rest of the discography.
It's loud, high-energy, punk flavored rock that set the stage for all the female fronted rock bands I love today.
One already favorite song on here, and a few I hadn't heard. Good stuff!
I love how raw and unpolished this recording sounds. Everything is kind of overly dynamic and noisy, but it fits the style of the music perfectly and sounds like you're listening to them live. S'good
This album is what I imagine the soundtrack to an awesome indie coming of age drama has. It has some loud and upbeat songs in the beginning, but ends with beautiful and almost melancholy tones. Maps really shifts the feel of the album if you're listening to it in order. I'm normally into acoustic and slower songs but I was surprised how genuinely I liked this album.
First listen. So good! I’ve listen to them a lot but never this album.
I have a lot to say about Maps although this album as a whole is absolutely essential. Maps is the best song of the 2000s. Represents so much about the time with garage rock revival. The amount of power it outputs is incredible. All done by drums and guitar which (with all due respect) are not using too many notes and vocals which are sparse. The economy and precision are unmatched. The music video is an essential part of this equation too. Bringing in my own baggage and knowing the story of the filming of the video and the emotional place Karen O was in, I have never been able to hold it together once she starts tearing up. Just incredible myth making stuff. This is what we come to music for. Speaking of the video, it warms my heart to see so many of the YouTube comments talking about playing this song in Rock Band. Maps is really the essential song to the Rock Band experience. It’s simple enough that anyone can play along with it. Anyone who does though is just going to wail away on the instruments or vocals and unload all their angst and heartbreak into hitting those 5 notes. Stroke of genius putting it into the first game. Maps. They don’t love you like I love you
Really surprised by this one. I had heard the singles all these years but never listened to the album. It’s a banger and count me as a new fan. Fantastic!
I'm obsessed. I don't think I've really solidified my opinion on individual songs yet because right now I've just been taking in the entire album as one uninterrupted vibe, but Rich and Modern Romance and Poor Song and especially Maps are all just amazing. I love how gravelly and rich the guitar tone is, it's utterly perfect. This album bounces nonstop between sadness and anger and all-out fun. Plenty of repetition and yet I'm never bored. A keeper.
When I looked up the info on this album as I was rocking out to it, I noticed that it had a similar setup to the White Stripes. I am talking about the guitar driven rock aspect with just one guitar and drums and no bass (and here a separate vocalist in Karen O). They don’t sound anything like them though. This album has a great hard rocking edge. I love the guitar-driven edge that is has on most of the tracks and was tempted to listen to some tracks over again right after I finished them (“Black Tongue” especially). The musicianship on here is quite good and there were parts on the whole album where one of them stood out and made me think “Man, what a great drum part” or “I love what she did with her voice there.” I’m not a huge fan of garage rock but this doesn’t sound like typical garage rock to be. This album really hit home hard and I’m looking forward to checking out more of their stuff.
What a fucking debut. sick riffs with karen's beautiful voice. made me interested to dive into their discography.
Get you a girl like Karen O, who can do "Tick" and "Maps" on the same album.
I enjoyed this as well. I really like the bluesy aspect of their music.
I liked this one a lot more than I expected to at first. It's sort of grunge/garage rock style and the lead vocalist is a woman. The album itself is somewhat short (36 ish minutes) and not at all a bad listen.
Every track sounds like it could have been in a Sony Bravio advert. Not familiar with the band, they remind me a bit of The Pretty Reckless.
mostly mellow rock from the earlier 2000's.. That one song "Maps" I am pretty sure I have heard before.. if I had to guess.. rockband or guitar hero haha
De todos los que hemos oído hasta ahora, estos son los únicos que he visto en vivo, recuerdo que me aburrieron, pero el disco por sí mismo me gustó mucho. Me imaginaba que iba a ser un tanto repetitivo, porque eso recuerdo del concierto, pero la verdad es que tiene al menos tres muy buenas rolas ('Maps', 'Date With The Night' y 'Y Control') y el resto no es malo. Creo que se distingue de la avalancha de grupos de su época por la voz de mujer y eso les aseguró unos años más de éxito.
Heard them in rock band back in the day had no idea they were so gritty!
This is a more modern album than I’ve listen to previously. I can respect the punk sound n most of this album is a good listen. Overall not something I would play although I probably have a few of there radio hit songs in my library
Un garrotazo. Fuerte, simple y a lo que va. La música es simple y poderosa la mayor parte del tiempo, aunque a veces baja de revoluciones, sin perder su esencia punketosa. Los coros mantienen también esta misma directriz. Para balancear viene Maps, hitazo y mi preferida del disco, junto con Y control. Crudo y honesto, se lleva 3.5 estrellas, que suben a 4 porque aunque no me encanten todas las canciones por sí solas, forman 39 minutos coherentes en los que en varias ocasiones te puedes descubrir haciendo headbanging sin darte cuenta. Songs: Maps, Date with the Night, Cold Light
Very rock punk vibe at the start and leads into a very slow beautiful sound. The slower songs are still a great listen even after almost 20 years.
Really good punk album, although im not super used to listening to punk.
One of the best finds through this has been Yeah Yeah Yeahs albums. Giving an extra star because their albums have both been consistently good stuff
Sooo sooo impressive. "Man" gives the title to the album. The Amazon Music album has 29 songs. Maps (My Angus Please Stay?) is a masterpiece that carries the album.
Maps is classic rock band and the rest was somewhat entertaining but not great. 7
Pretty groovy but I definitely had to let it grow on me. Maps was good, and I liked Y Control. Couldn't just sit and listen to this but for doing dishes it was good background. 7
Cool album. Super weird to listen to the first half and know that Maps is coming up. strong 8/10
Do love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but their earlier stuff is a bit too frantic for me. Date with the Night and Maps absolute classics of course
Brilliant pop/rock start to the bank holiday weekend 👌🙌. Definitely gonna revisit.
I liked it. Generally this isn't really my style of music, but on this album the intensity and atmosphere just hit the right notes for me.
With this album the Yeah Yeah Yeahs emerged as major influencers of the new alt rock movement of the mid-2000's. It is easy to see their impact and growth while keeping a unique sound.
Album Song Ranking: No No No (H.M.) Modern Romance (H.M.) Maps Y Control Man Poor Song Cold Light Pin Tick Rich Date With The Night Black Tongue Additional Comments: I personally liked this album. It had lots of flare and different tones. I like how it was very high in energy towards the beginning, bridged towards the middle, and ended on a more calm note towards the end.
Opening track is such a banger of an introduction. Karen’s vocal effects throws me back to early 2000s teen movies. I found the songs remained interesting all the way through, with a cool ability to shock us with unexpected sections or directions without being messy or chaotic.
How many YYY albums are on this list anyway? This one is a burner but ends flat. Karen O's vocals are sexy and scary.
I enjoyed this. Reminded me of Scott pilgrim vs the world and the sex babombs. It was rowdy and fun.
I forgot just how good this album is! It has aged really well too. Love that it is simplistic or minimalistic but sounds more complex.
Really loved the lead singer's range and piercing voice. There were some sick riffs on here too... favs were rich, date with the night, and y control. 4/5
Und alle so: yeah. Erinnert nicht nur wegen dem overdrive auf dem Mikro (haben das seinerzeit eigentlich ALLE New Yorker Bands so gemacht?) etwas an The Strokes. Rocken aber mehr als die Strokes. Sobald ein Genre-Attribut „-punk“ enthält, schrecke ich ja instinktiv zurück, das hier hat mir allerdings ausgesprochen gut gefallen. Mehr als 3 Sterne, gerade so 4.
Consistent and sturdy aggro-fem pop. Rad as hell. The only thing holding this back is that it is too consistent, as it holds a little sameness throughout.
It’s got some swagger but it loses a lot of steam in the back half. I think it’s a better project as individual songs, but listening as a sum gets a bit to samey. I did quite like it, overall, though. Between a 3 and a 4 here.
They have the early 2000s alt sound lined up and nailed. Date With The Night is abound with lipstick and neon. Maps is a great tune. Cool album, will need another spin
The more I listened, the more I liked it. I’ve known about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for a while, but I’ve always kinda kept to the Strokes and Franz Ferdinand for my early 00s rock- and man I’ve been missing out. Not every song on here has the same pacing, but they all have that same manic energy, and it wasn’t till I got to the flip side of the album that I really got into it. Never before has my thought on an album and a band flipped so quickly . I’d say No No No was the track that really got me on board, though Maps and Y Control-how it flows into each other- most excellent. Modern Romance is also amazing. Good job Yeah Yeah Yeahs
This is a selection which absolutely deserves a place on this list, and I would have put it in my personal canon years and years ago. Still holds up. I hadn't picked up on the basslessness explicitly before, but it helps bring out Karen's vocals, squeezed through something before reaching the ear. For the most part, the songs are energy-fests, burning up as they fade out. The pop inclinations are there, but don't surface completely on this album. That might be for the best: It's a more consistent project even if it has duller aural peaks than some of their other albums. The second half dips in intensity, proving that breadth is eminently possible for the band.
Not bad! Karen O definitely mixed things up in the middle there, with her mixture of singing, moaning and squealing. Won't buy, but might listen some time again
I guess I was in a different head space when this came out and didn’t seek it out. My loss. This slaps. Love it.
Glorious bit of early noughties New York indie rock. Karen O absolutely kills it, and the guitar sounds are very much synonymous of the time.
What a feel this album has. Sexy, sultry a slow burn. Karen Os voice is a thing of beauty and never ceases to captivate. Best songs; Modern Romance, Y Control, Rich and of course the sumptuous Maps. 4 🌟
I knew Rich and Maps going into today but hadn't listened to the whole album before. This isn't really my kind of music and I don't know that I'll want to do the whole thing again but I listened to it a few times today and enjoyed it well enough. The opening of Rich is an excellent start to a record and I love Karen O's snarling, screaming vocals throughout. The lyrics in many of the songs include long stretches of a single word or phrase repeated over and over (rich-rich-rich-rich-rich-rich; choke, choke, choke; tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick; uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh-ooh; bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam dunuh-dunuh-dunuh-dunuh). This totally worked for me. The almost gentle Modern Romance is a nice change of pace after so much screaming and blistering guitar. Love the sweet vocal quality, the simple steady beat, and the quiet jingle bells on this song. The last track Poor Song starts with an off-key mmm-chh that I could listen to all day and a line that is my personal philosophy, "Baby, I'm afraid of a lot of things, but I ain't scared of loving you."
Great album. Early 2000s punk meets rock style. For the most part, solid all the way through
Pleasantly surprised with this album. Enjoyed a big chunk of it. Fav tracks: Rich, Maps, Modern Romance
I think this is the first time listening to this album in full. I was already a fan of the yeah yeah yeahs, having the album it’s a Blitz and familiar with the song maps. Really enjoyed this album it’s a lot rawer than it’s a blitz and full of energy. One I will add to my rotation. Also learned today my wife seen the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs at a festival in 2006, didn’t think she was into them, she wasn’t…
Cool modern-punk album. Maps was a pleasant surprise, but most of the rest of the album was much heavier which was wonderful.
4.0 + The Yeah Yeah Yeahs blazed in on a wave of media buzz back in the early aughts so it’s strange to think that they now seem relegated to a mere footnote within that Brooklyn-DIY-indie scene. On hindsight, Karen O's stage persona always smacked of performance art, overly ironic with little heartfelt emotion to draw in the listener (note two exceptions: “Maps” and “Modern Romance”). That said, I do adore Nick Zinner’s guitar sound, a rainbow colored chainsaw.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs always give me the feels and I enjoyed revisiting this album, reminds me of high school years
Classic punk band i'd say. COuld have had more power in some songs, if you understand what I mean. But over all I had a good time listening to this album:D
I've loved this band since Rock Band. Who hasn't? Maps gets 4 stars by itself. What a refresh after fuckin Ute Lemper.
First, let's start with the cover. It's horrible. Doesn't suit the album. Great album - debut three piece noise rock - of it's time certainly, but has enough hits to lift itself. And Maps - wonderful, especially the video.
The first two thirds of the album are good but the last third of this is fantastic.
Reminds me of a band playing at high school in a acoobie doo movie. I love it, fresh Colley rock. I like her voice and the whole vibe. Not every song works but overall a lot of fun to listen to.
I know of Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Maps and "Heads Will Roll", but also heard "Y Control" although I didn't know the title. In general I'm a fan, a few songs on this album I'm not really into, but the ones I am into I am very into. Rich and Y Control are my two stand-outs, but Maps is still good although almost like a different album since it's so mellow. I also enjoyed listening to the 4 track demos on the Deluxe edition, they are all so much distorted but overall I think they made the right choices for the actual album's sound.
Listened to this quite a bit back in the day, along with most of the other big NYC bands of the era. Karen O's vocals are definitely the best part. She keeps it fun, even exhilarating, throughout - even on the slower songs towards the end of the album. She's like a hyperactive Chrissie Hynde. This remains their best album. There are alot of great tracks here but "Pin" was always my favorite and still is.
I love that the songs feel almost put of control. Karen O's vocals really contribute to that feeling. I can understand why this would be great live.
Z niewiadomych mi do końca powodów przemówił do mnie ten krążek. To nie jest nic nadzwyczajnego, ale słuchało się ponadprzeciętnie fajnie. Ma taki przyjemny garażowy vibe. Głos wokalistki też mi podszedł, nietypowy. Daję słabe 4.
I didn't like this album as much as It's Blitz, which I first encountered with this list. Compared to that, this album didn't really have any songs that stuck out. However, I love the sound of this band, and I still thought that this was worth a listen. Poppy and gritty at the same time 4/5
Yes this album is wonderful, it’s been a while since I listen to the whole thing but it’s just as good as I remember.
En general muy bien. Pero "No no no", "Y control" y "Maps" se salen. Gran disco. Es un 4 estrellas tirando para 5.
Great unique voice. Great unique sound. Have you ever heard an album that you don't think you're cool enough to be allowed to listen to? This is that for me.
Bastante original y único, tiene una voz hermosa y los gemidos que echa entre las canciones son 10/10.
Enjoyed the jangly guitars and the vocals. A few songs were very good and most had nice high energy. Not memorable enough to listen again 3.6/5
The thing I like about jazz is that it changes every time you listen to it. No two performances are alike. Each one is a moment in time never to be duplicated but is it possible that jazz doesn't exist outside of live performances? Obviously this isn't jazz but I think FTT best exists as an experience. It's a stream of consciousness and difficult to anticipate what's going to happen next. No track illustrates this better than Tick Tick where KO's breath ends in a frenzied display of self-dysregulation. I'd like to be swept up in the mayhem of the moment if I was watching this live, but this is a hard transition thru Spotify.
not sure how maps coheres with the rest of the album, but i'm glad it was published! y control could have been the final track, but that leaves ten fun tracks in a row!
Prefs: Rich, Man, Pin, Cold Light, No No No, Maps, Y Control, Modern Romance, Poor Song Moins pref: Tick
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a group that I definitely expect to like a lot more than I usually do. They have some absolutely brilliant songs, but when you dig into an album there's a lot of filler. I get the sense that they're absolutely fantastic to see live, and overall it's a fun listen but definitely inconsistent.
Phenomenal grunge album! Really enjoyed this listen. Many high points with sparse lows - already recommended it to a friend. Reminds me a lot of my favorite sound from early 00s Sia :)
A good mix of punk & rock. I love Karen O's voice, and Maps is one of the best love songs ever recorded.
This is a solid punkish/garage rock album most notable for Karen O's distinctive vocals, but three tracks stand head and shoulders above the others: "Date with the Night," "Black Tongue," and "Maps." The latter is likely their most well-known track, as it charted in the US. That said, it sticks out like a sore thumb on the album—stylistically, it's more polished and ... I don't want to say "tame," so let's go with "accessible" instead (hence it hitting the charts). It's a fantastic song, but the rest of the album's wilder in comparison, which is likely to disappoint more pop-oriented music fans. "Black Tongue" is more representative of the album as a whole, and a joy for those who love the rawer sound. Karen O's in fine vocal form, and the instrumentation is simple and a touch dirty. While I can't pick out a song I don't like, but I wish there was another song or two that I outright loved. It wouldn't have hurt for them to have thrown "Bang" (from their debut EP) onto the album, just to give it a little more kick. But that's quibbling. This is a great album.
Thought this was a great album with my two favorites, "Y Control" and "Maps". Doesn't sound from 2003, if anything they were ahead of their time. Great energy from start to finish. 8/10.
Never listened to this record, though it's been ever present, people love it. Pretty impressive debut record for sure, very fully formed. A lot of fun to listen to.
Really good fun - even the distance of time away from its trendiness - it holds up really well. Maybe a little weak lyrically but it’s a solid noughties garage album end to end, with a some good memorable tunes to boot.
The first time I heard Maps I dug this band. I love Karen O's unique shrieky vocals and the big fuzzy sound that comes from the guitars and percussion of her bandmates. Again, garage rock - some people don't like it but I'm always impressed at how much bigger the sound is given it's usually only a couple instruments. These guys and this album just ooze energy. They're like 80's post-punk and new wave reinvented (and better). Now, this isn't a perfect album. The lyrics are sometimes a little too juvenile or simple (barely even there on Pin, what'd you say on Cold Light?) and Karen O can get a little annoying (the last few ticks on Tick, uh-huhs on Black Tongue). But even those songs, like most on this album, are pumping. Rich, Date With the Night, Y Control kick ass. No, No, No was a bit underwhelming (especially the last 2 minutes; unnecessary), as were Modern Romance and Poor Song; so a bit of a dip to end the album. But overall, a solid album and one that will have me (re)seeking out more Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Great album, probably not my favourite from this band but still good :-)
Absolutely obsessed with the raw lo-fi garage sound, consisting of nothing more than a chaotic screaming vocalist, a heavy distorted wailing guitar, drums not afraid to spam its ear-piercing cymbals, and an artsy use of cyber synths that'll feel more complete in their later albums. It really rushes by, with the first 7 songs taking up only 17 minutes. Ideas come and go, but they never feel incomplete; it reminds me of early punk records with their short and fast songs. The last 4 (5?) songs however slow down and shift the mood from wild to introspective (reminding of art punk like Wire's Chairs Missing or even midwest emo). This was a smart pacing decision, as I don't think I could have taken full smack energy the entire time, and I enjoyed seeing both sides, feeling equally consistent. "No No No" was the perfect bridge between these two styles. There's something to like about every song, and many are memorable enough to leave a lasting impression after just one listen. It's no wonder why "Maps" became a defining song of the generation. Favorites: Rich, Pin, Maps, Y Control
It was good, I personally thought most of the songs the girl was just screeching. Like the cardi B of punk rock. Still punk rock so music was fine.
I really like Karen O, but I kinda feel like she's a bit wasted in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This album has some bright spots, but overall, it's just okay. Best track: Maps
Cold light is okay, most is just garage rock without sounding cheap. Its okay but i don't know what makes it special. Wikipedia calls it dance mix with rock and that is a decent description. quite up tempo