It's Blitz!

A hard album to assess. The album has a real sweep to it, a sense of ideas being mustered, and a evident passion. So why am I not responding to this as warmly as I should? Maybe it's the middle. Like your mum aged 22, there's palpable sag in the middle. It could be me: I was at uni when this came out, and the hype of the New York rock revival never persuaded me, despite the constant claims of Sonics/Gang of Four/New Order parentage. Possibly it's my aversion to record-collection rock, and I'm not impressed by a rehash of Bizarre Love Triangle. But ultimately the Yeah Yeah Yeahs just aren't enough. You want more. Listening to them, you want them to be a little more melodic, a little more emotional, a little more abrasive, a little more arctic, a little more erotic, a little more bombastic, a little more detached, a little more serene, a little more urban, a little more experimental and a little more fun. You have here a decent band, sure, and that's fine, but a decent band is not a great band, and even though I want to root for them now, I find I can't outright.

Greater than the sum of its parts, dull life seemed appropriate for covid and realised this might have been the last cool person called Karen

Jam packed with tasty synth-fueled indie jams. Feels like it’s cut from the same cloth as Florence + the Machine, but they used that cloth to make tight jumpsuits instead of flowy dresses. It may be a Friday morning, but this album makes me long for Saturday night.

Day 25 of Albums You Must Hear... Next up on my list of randomly generated music is an album titled Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released in 2009. Not gonna lie, I’m not super familiar with this band. The first track, Zero, had me optimistic. Okay, this is going to be a dance/punk record. Heads Will Roll, the second track, is so good that I was super stoked for the rest of the album! Then, this album took a nosedive into loneliness and despair. While the production is top tier, and the vocals of singer Karen O are satisfying to listen to, this albums premature crescendo left me with musical blue balls. In all fairness, music is closely tied to the mood of the listener, and if you’re in the state of mind for the last 8 of the ten tracks on Ok Blitz!, I’m completely understanding. Maybe I got this album at the wrong time, but I couldn’t give it more than a couple listens. I’m not shitting on this album from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, just after hearing the first two songs I felt honey dicked. You can’t name your album Blitz! with an exclamation point and then lose all momentum after two songs in. On that note, in conclusion, Heads Will Roll is REALLY good and I’d totally add that song to a playlist in a heartbeat. Please share your thoughts, memories and opinions!

Flat and uninspiring.

boring

Zero is a tune. It's a great energetic way to start the album. I knew that song well before listening, and also knew 'Heads Will Roll' which is also good. The energy and vibe changes a bit beyond this, but it's generally solid, with some standout tracks sprinkled in. 'Runaway' is great, it's got a real depth and atmosphere to it. 3.5 rounded up. And side note: It's a great album cover!

Electrifying. Karen O is a rock and roll goddess and the band has a blast on this record. Every song is just a ton of fun, very original, and a lot of good grooves too.

Awesome! I likee it even more than i thought I would!

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs” take garage rock and post-punk, streamline it, install air conditioning, and leave it odourless. I found this fine, but it slid off my plate. The last song is an exception: that caught me out. “I wanna go and *SHIT* in your pants” was a lyric I spontaneously improvised in the car, immediately hoping my two-year old wouldn’t record and repeat.

Maybe it's just Monday, but I hated this. Her voice is terrible, songs sound like reheated Madonna. Go away

Love the covert photo of the exploding egg! And that just about exhausts my praise. I would call It's Blitz a failure except that you have to actually attempt something to fail. It's Blitz is deeply mediocre in every imaginable way: songcraft, synth textures, arrangements, and production. This is kind of the late oughts version of bubblegum music like the Archies, but with shitty synths and inferior songwriting. Except for the vocals, this album could have been generated by a reasonably sophisticated AI. That's how generic and uncreative it is. I complain a lot about modern hip hop in this channel, but It's Blitz makes those albums look like the height of sophistication and ambition. If I could give this half a point, I would. Mind numbing.

Surprise! A scant two weeks after the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ debut album shows up here we get another one recorded six years later. I loved their debut but hadn’t expected a second album on this list from them. I also did not expect to love IT’S BLITZ! even more than the first album. This is a stunning evolution. Karen O’s incredible vocals shimmer over glittering synths and driving dance floor beats. Heavy doses of disco and new wave transform the band as Karen O achieves Blondie-levels of greatness. The opening track “Zero” erupts pure glitter as the dance floor lights up around me and a cascade of lights fill the room. How’d I wind up in the coolest club in town?! “Holy shit!” was my last thought as I lost myself in this incredible song. No chance of leaving the dance floor now as “Heads Will Roll” fires a one-two disco punch. This is the sort of song that gets you dancing by yourself without giving a fuck about who’s around. The drums keep time as Karen O rules the dance floor on a wave of synths and gritty guitars. This is no sterile electronic environment. These songs cozy up like best friends sharing moments of joy, sadness, pain, love and surrender. How the hell does an album get this cool?! Karen O would be right at home in a silver body suit on a series of disco-oriented tracks like “Dragon Queen.” They’re joined by lush ballads like the piano-driven “Runaway” or the guitar-and-organ-powered “Little Shadow,” perfect for coming down with that special someone at the end of a night. Songs like “Faces” and “Hysteric” add a zest of Tegan and Sara quirkiness… so much to discover! IT’S BLITZ! invites you to dance and chill with the coolest trio in town. Get your leather on… ‘cause you’d be crazy to pass up this much fun!

-Nice blend between dance tunes and slow/acoustic tunes.

I loved this album! Skeletons was my fav. I love how every song is different but still work together so well. i had heard the singles off this album and enjoyed them. Loved the whole thing together

I love this album so much. I know the first two songs. They were regular hits at the dance parties I used to have with my kiddo when they were little. And I don't really think I can play those first two songs loud enough. Cool to finally hear the rest of the album. New favorites: Skeletons, Dull Life (fucking rocks), Runaway, Hysteric. and all the other songs are good. Karen O's voice is so great. Love the music. Awesome album!

This album rocks! Was already a fan of the first two hits, and I found the whole thing very engaging and interesting. It’s fun and dancy and soulful and something I just wanted to keep listening to. Great stuff!

I love this album! It’s rare that I love the studio recorded version of something as much as hearing it live (I used to have a bootleg that was from a concert), but it does it for me. Karen O’s vocals, the strings, the pulsing and the energy! I love it!!!!

'Heads will roll' is such a banger. It's a pretty solid album all round. they remind me a lot of the band Metric, in particular with the vocals. First three songs lead to a strong start, a punchy punky party album. Very suddenly becomes a bit more melancholic with 'Skeletons' which threw me, only to be whiplashed back to those fast beats with 'Dull Life' before winding down to more melodic songs once again. The final song 'Little Shadow' comes across almost like a lullaby and is a very sweet way to end what started as quite a raucous album.

Really surprised by this one! It's so different from Fever to Tell which we had just two weeks ago. The sound is cleaner and seems more intentional. Dance beats but still an alt-rock sound. I dig it!

A fav

Lead singer's voice is airy and refreshing. The songs are light and fun. I'd put this on again and go for a drive in my nonexistent convertible. I especially liked the dreamy "Hysteric."

Nr. 106/1001 Zero 4/5 Heads Will Roll 4/5 Soft Shock 4/5 Skeletons 4/5 Dull Life 4/5 Shame And Fortune 3/5 Runaway 3/5 Dragon Queen 3/5 Hysteric 4/5 Little Shadow 4/5 Faces 3/5 Aberage: 3,64 Really liked her voice.

Rocking. Hard guitars and fucking attitude. Love it. 4.4 as it was just a little short of amazing.

The thing with YYYs is that the lyrics bounce back and forth between inspired and insipid with little to no warning. That said, this album is really quite good and just gets better as the album went out. The back half of the album is straight fire. This only misses a 5-star review because of a few, pretty goofy tracks at the beginning.

It’s ok. It sounds kind of new wave-y in parts, and sort of in that mid-2000s Strokes/She Wants Revenge/The Hives/Interpol genre. I don’t love the singers voice, but I think the fact that it’s a female singer is the only bit that sets them apart.

Rating: ** 3 ** Notes: Really liked the beginnig of the album, and was really suprised when i realized that i actually know one of the songs ("Heads Will Roll") but the further the album progressed, the boringer it got. Also I did not like that they put the same songs but acoustic version of it in the album... that should be done in a delux edition. Songs which stood out in no particular order (credits to Uncle Gue for the idea): "Zero" "Heads will roll" "Soft Shock" ------------------------------------------------------------- Rating Scale: 1- very bad 2- bad 3- neutral 4-good 5-very good additonaly -/+ sign if necessary

Nah Nah Nahs. Ah, I'm being a little uncharitable. There are precisely two good songs here - 'Dull Life' and 'Dragon Queen'. Everything else is a bit stultifying. It's easy to be lulled by the pretty sounds, especially the singing, and to overlook that squatting at the heart of this album is a fairly mediocre, ambition-lite collection of music.

Couldn't make it past the first song. Nuff said.

More like the Shit Shit Shits

Another amazing record from Karen O and Co. This is one that was on constant replay for me when it was released. Really all of their albums are great and I’ve enjoyed keeping up with them over the years as well as Karen O’s solo and side project offerings, make sure you check out Lux Prima with Danger Mouse after diving back into the back catalog. Over recent years the single Heads Will Roll has become a Halloween playlist staple and I’m here for it.

Heads will roll

I loved this album. Listening to it felt cinematic, I could see the story they were trying to paint through the music which is always beautiful. I think the acoustic versions are the highlights of the project, I would like to hear the acoustic version of all of the songs tbh.

Love this album. Karen O's voice just exudes that confidence and cool that hooks you in. The songs are powerful and electric. Makes you want to rock out on the dance floor like a carefree youth.

While it doesn't have any single song that's as good as Maps, it's overall a much better album than their first.

Loved it. Went and found more

Fun, usually-quite-energetic album, with some staying power. Based on just one listen, I’d say either my favorite songs were in the second half…or maybe it just grew on me. Either way, “Runaway” stands out, as well as “Dull Life” and the “Dragon Queen” for very different reasons. Let’s call it 4.6 so I can round up to a full 5.

FUN

Indi-rock. Not my cup of tea. En met een bandnaam als Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs verwacht ik niet heel veel creativiteit. Dus met frisse tegenzin start ik de plaat. Mmm...valt mee. Het start vrij elektronisch. Het heeft iets van een sfeer. Nou vooruit, wat hebben we nog meer. Hé, dat nummer ken ik. Dat is de laatste tijd zo vaak op de radio. Ik dacht dat het een recente hit was. Het past zo in de huidige tijd. Maar het komt blijkbaar uit 2009. Was deze band de tijd toch aardig vooruit. Als ik verder luister denk ik af en toe aan die zogenaamd kunstzinnige artiesten. Iets anders maken om anders te zijn. Toch mogen die kunstenaars even meeluisteren met dit plaatje. Je kan een prima middenweg bewandelen en én anders zijn én muzikaal. Ik vind dit een fijne plaat. En omdat het zich positief onderscheid ten opzichte vergelijkbare albums, wil ik graag een bonuspunt uitdelen. Die heeft deze zure broeder toch nog voldoende over.

Rap vibe

I haven't heard much of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but I've liked everything I've heard. This, however, is next level greatness. Too often when a band starts off as guitar/bass/drums and then adds synths, it's because major label execs got their hooks in, brought in a flavor-of-the-month producer, and tried to squeeze a hit or two out of them. In this case, though, the synths and keyboards are a sign of a band growing and maturing. It's an amazing record. Also, "Heads Will Roll" slaps.

Yes please!

It's a good album

Holy shit I loved this album. Excellent vibes all the way through, even added a few to my playlist. Similar vibes to Sleigh Bells. Good tempo throughout the whole album and would love to listen to more of their stuff

It's hard to classify exactly what genre the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are in. Indie dance rock? Pop rock electronica? Heads Will Roll was the dance rock hit from this album. I love Karen O's voice. This came out the same year as The XX's album and you can hear some echoes in this. We're all prisoners of our own times. It's hard to make an album where no songs are duds or filler and everything doesn't sound identical. This is good. Little Shadow is different but showcases what's great about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

I think the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a 3 perfect album trilogy and this is the final piece. Zero is a perfect song. Personal enjoyment: 5/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5

Oh to be 22 again.

sehr gutes Album

Good album, the way which the band used an Alchemy Synth was unique and punchy. There was one song in particular that shone past the others in terms of lyrics, in my humble opinion I'd have to say it was Dull Life. I really enjoyed the baseline, drums and vocals on this song, and the upbeat sound contrasted well against the misery of the lyrics. I honestly thought the chorus was the best part of the whole song, "we've seen the nightmare of the lies that you speak, the beast that I lie beneath is coming in". It's been a while since I've listened to an album with lyrics that were as poetic as these, so I'd absolutely recommend this album to anyone that likes Synth music due to its variety of tones and high production quality

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this tour was one of the most fun shows I've ever been to. I havent listened to this full album in years but "Dull Life" is one of my favorite Yeah Yeah Yeahs songs. Holds up! Dance jams, rockers, and Karen O slow ballads, I just love this crew.

this record makes me feel like i'm a british teenager doing drugs for the first time in a field

Margaret’s favourite

A nice suprise

This was the era for sure, I think the negative feelings I harbour towards this are entirely rooted in the music that I know was inspired by this, and most of that is shite. But yea what do I know 5 stars

Mega!

This album fucks. No other way to put it.

Love me some Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I'm of the opinion that they only got better since their debut, and this one is a massive step in that regard.

Electro glory from the height of 2000’s electropop

nice, punky feel

Mellow nice. I’ll try to relisten.

Desconocidos para mí. Me voy a hacer fan.

Better than I remembered, and I remembered it being great.

Eh. Not really my vibe. End track was kinda good. They compose the music good, but the lyrics are kinda random.

Always loved Karen O’s voice and that indie sound with buzzing guitar licks. Their breakout hit Heads Will Roll is iconic marvel. I found most every song on the LP compelling. No wonder Spin rated the album top 2 of that year

On review 203 I said I had never heard of this band and loved it. Now 729 days later (almost exactly two years) I have seen them live twice and love them. So what a great discovery from this list.

Love this album, it was one of my favorites in 2009

LOVE THIS ALBUM SO MUCH

4.5 - Thought this was going to be a solid 4 album, but it was actually so good. I had only really listened to the big hitters, but this album had so much more

I take back every bad thing I’ve said about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This shit slaps

own

AWESOME

Fun nostalgic

Super good stuff!

I was so excited to this as my pick of the day. Any reason to listen to this album is a great one. 5 star classic

Totally my kind of music! One of the first albums I've received that I’ve enjoyed from top to bottom.

So so fun!

Ah, a Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, and one of their finest at that. "Runaway" is an eternal masterpiece, and "Zero" is a perfect opener.

I think this album is like an isolated triumph of pop based rock in a time when it stands as an anomaly. I wish there were more albums that had this lush fun edgy feel.

One of the most enjoyable albums I've listened to in a while.

Loved it! Super upbeat and great jams

I LOVE this band/album. So good.

A rock revolution that was instrumental in the craze.

Interesting. 5/5

Great fucking album. The more dance/pop oriented sound fits Yeah Yeah Yeahs really well, and Karen O has a superb voice throughout. It nearly lost me in the middle, but quickly brought my attention back into it with all strong songs til the end

Yes. More of this.

Absolutely fire, I have heard it for the first time 10 years ago and it still hits hard.

I only knew Heads Will Roll, first time hearing the whole album and I really dig it! Post-punk is one of my favorite genre but oftentimes its woefully underrated/unoriginal a lot of the time. Not this album, the punk voice with the heavy rock tune mixed with the whacky electronic noises makes the whole thing masterful!

This was a surprisingly good album. The vibe is upbeat and cool. Very consistent. A very easy listen.

Really good, never heard this before besides "heads will roll". Solid album.

really fun super vibey every track good 5/5

I liked hysteric and zero and skeleton

A few things. This far in, obviously my perception of 4 vs 5 is evolving. I did Fever to Tell as a 4, but that's because I really liked some songs, but mostly the more minimal ones. But this album has a lot more atmosphere to it. Skeletons is really good. It also has the acoustic version of Hysteric which means a lot to me. Also, Little Shadow is just a beautiful song to me. So, this one is a 4.5 for me, despite Fever to Tell being the more appreciated one.

The purpose of this exercise isn't really to be objective, but even then I *really* can't be objective about this. "Zero" is one of my all time favorite songs, and as time has gone on I've warmed more and more to the ballads, which I initially didn't like when I heard this album years ago. Sort of funny the YYYs did a synthpop album one time at (what's now) the midpoint of their career and decided to never do that again. What's even funnier is how naturally it worked for them. Fuck it...

Knew the first three songs ripped, nice to confirm the rest of it dies too!

A lovely album from beginning to end, grungy guitars and keys, Karen O howls and growls and can sing so softly and sweetly. Fantastic album and extra cool to have the deluxe version on Apple Music which had additional acoustic versions of the songs.

Finisiomo rey

This was not what I was expecting after listing to and loving “fever to tell” an album of raw emotion. This album is much more refined, with synth and dance beats but Karen O’s voice and lyrics remain just as powerful. This album is amazing, I’d call out a few favorite songs on the album but they are all great. Listened twice and the arrangement of the songs is perfect. Turn this one up! This album gets a 5 plus from me. In looking at the album art of “it’s blitz” I have to compare it to “fever to tell” which like its music is chaotic, loud, powerful maybe even a little ugly (but in a good way). “It’s blitz” is very clean, very polished but still a powerful image. Amazing how both albums cover convey the music within. And both covers could be art on the wall.

I loved every song. Amazing!

Fantastic. One of the best albums I’ve seen on this list (along with Beck’s Guero). This might have been the peak for them, as far as I’m concerned. One of my favorite albums, period.

Oh man - I had but written off this band as a relic of the noughties garage rock revival - but what a banger factory of a record. Song after song of memorable hooks and even though I’d heard this over a decade ago - I felt it was just yesterday that I was playing this album. Who would have thought the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a breakthrough for their era. Good stuff.