yeaH. YeaH. YEAH!

It's been leaked. And I've got it.



(Must give a thank you to RG for the hook up.)

It's Blitz! the name of the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album excitedly proclaims. I shall have to update you further once I've listened to the full album more than once, but here are my initial thoughts:

The whole thing sounds much softer to me than what I'd imagined and have come to expect from the YYYs. While this softness pays more homage to Karen O's clean, always fresh pipes, it also leaves something to be desired; at least for a YYY fan used to more edge. I can appreciate the haunting sort of vibe that the slower, toned-down ballad-esque songs have to offer, but I'm a fan of the raw, grittiness that I've come to define YYY by.

I shouldn't get too critical - there is some rockin' killer stuff here - in particular, on tracks two (Heads Will Roll) and five (Dull Life). Dull Life starts out slow like it is going to be a downer, and then suddenly the drums kick in and the heavy guitar and suddenly you have a signature YYY-make-you-want-to-jump-around-swing-your-hair track. Karen repeatedly laments, "It's a dull life," but this song is far from that and so is her proclamation that it is. It slows down for a refrain that sets up for the perfect re-build and subsequent breakdown. They've remembered that their followers expect such song construction from YYY. It's what they're all about and this song nails it.

Heads Will Roll is hot. Immediately you know it's a dancer. And not just because Karen says, "dance till you're dead" within in the first 10 seconds, but because the synth immediately lets you know. It's got a bit of late '80s, early '90s dance music feel, but that's fine by me. In fact, I got that feel from a lot of the dance-y tracks on It's Blitz! It seems like the bass could be turned up on some of these, and even the tempo picked up a bit - but perhaps finishing sound quality checks will be made for the official album. Or perhaps this is just how they want it.

The sexiest and also saddest is a track called Runaway. It's almost orchestral in its use of instruments - though I'm pretty sure they've got the standard stuff in the studio. (But who knows these days with sound machines...) There's a lot of "Ooooh ooooh ooohs" in this one, but in no way does it seem unnatural or because there was need for filler. "All along/Not that strong/Without these open arms/Run, run, run away/Lost, lost, lost my mind," it sings.

It's Blitz! seems more coiffured than their two previous records. It's an absolute departure from their typical style - which perhaps is testament to the YYYs' trust in their fans to follow them wherever in the music world they choose to go next. You won't find any Art Star-screaming on this record, though you will hear Karen's sexily distinguished shrieks, which seem to be more polished these days. The album doesn't have anything quite on par with Gold Lion or Black Tongue - but those will be hard for the trio to ever top, in my opinion.

What I do know for sure is this: I can't F-ing WAIT for the tour. Will be stalking their myspace page hourly until those details surface.