YEAH YEAH YEAHS was a bright spot back in 2001. They were raw, they were visceral, vicious, they were from the heart and groin. Alluring sound backed the attitude and bizarre clothing. Karen O was the bipolar frontwoman of the decade. Brian Chase was a kinetic powerhouse. Nicolas Zinner had a bag full of beefy riffs and seedy bars. People loved them. People hated them. One couldn’t have ignored the phenomena. Even bass players couldn't.

2006, YEAH YEAH YEAHS are just a bunch of fashionists desperately seeking an emotion, all attitude, modest sonic achievements. Their love for other decade’s sonorities has become parody. They turned their backs to groins and forgot what is to bear a bleeding heart at all. They are comfortably nested alongside the dedicated followers of fashion, hey, they were trendsetters and this is only their second album! If this is no statement on stagnation, what could have ever been?

Show Your Bones, the record, is even, but in a mediocre plateau as all its compositions are (that) uneven, almost all them frustrating. Occasional brilliance – when they do break the mold – is lost underneath oceans of so-so. The ambitious threesome with expanded funding delves too deep into maturity for it’s own good – I miss the early hormones of immaturity. They were afraid of being young men…Lyrics replaced arty sex and sassy antics for ambiguity or plain dumbness. They didn’t show anything but indecision. They need a bass, man.

Karen O is now unquiet. Where is her confidence? Did she leave it behind SIOUXSIE’s mask? She sounds contrived on opener, single Gold Lion. She sounds accommodated, merely resting on sketches from her previous aesthetic butchery. Way Out (one of the best tracks) displays unconformity, but sugar-coated one, leading to uncomfortably standard chorus and whiny bridges. Fancy (what a name) is a post-Punk mashup, but Karen merely crawls through the proceedings, even if the chorus is reminiscent of her open-chested past. Phenomena’s mammoth groove is a relief, a glam CHRISSIE HYNDE and some breath for Karen. Honeybear is positively bizarre, a freakish GWEN STEFANI. Power ballad Cheated Hearts belongs to second-generation BANSHEES but Karen disappoints in a moody set, this is no Maps. She ain’t bigger than the sound anymore. Dudley is a poor woman’s STROKES. Not bad, but definitely not great. Is she saving her voice for last? Hum. Mysteries once for all is kinetic, but strangely bone-dry on energy. Cow-Punk that GEORGIA SATTELLITES and MEAT PUPPETS would be shameful to record. Karen is not for this earth (and she recognizes with malevolent vocals on coda, finally). The Sweets is another quasi-Blues effort, this time Karen keeps the right timing and nice moaning. Warrior is another rejected SIOUXSIE offspring (or maybe KATE BUSH’s), an unexpected epic ballad that bears some genuine punch and delivers, after all. Turn Into, finally, is an introspective acoustic ballad turned generic “new rock”. Not brilliant. Not shameful – Karen seems reconciled with her “other one”, she sweats and bleeds, and the theremin is a discrete feature. But record could have been brilliant, not merely adequate. Her overall performance is regular.

Nicolas Zinner somehow had lost his hand of doom. Now is a recycler of 1980’s cheesiest synthetized guitar riffs. SONIC YOUTH turned into THE BUGGLES. Sometimes OK other times just bad fun. Gold Lion is funny but Way Out eloquently displays the exhaustion towards the end. Fancy’s bluesy blueprints sometimes sound plain revival but Phenomena tops its 1980 trickery with irony, suddenly turned novelty for the 21st century boys. Honeybear is a remarkable display of virtuosity but synths suck. Cheated Hearts fails to succeed Maps but not due to riffing, which are decent enough to enthusiasm this reviewer. Dudley is disappointingly modest in its STROKES impersonation, for an Art Band from NY. Cow-Punk riffing is aptly displayed on Mysteries, otherwise there’s no mystery at all, the No Wave coda redeems. The Sweets is the only melancholy that delivers, from JOY DIVISION impersonation to Blues apocalypse. Warrior is generic in its 1981 recreation of acoustic epic gloom but quickly turns into a heartbroken knockout. Turn Into recreates some of previous acoustic moods. It’s not a striking closer for a great guitarist like him…Fortunately, the theremin and the arrangement are quite good. His overall performance is regular.

Brian Chase is subdued, fortunately uncontained by his newfound foes. He gets the closer to the warmer spirit of Show Your Bones next to the allegoric carnality of Fever To Tell. He plays loud and proud even in the moodier numbers. Gold Lion bears a steady straight beat. Way Out is ignited by wondrous minimalist underpinning. Fancy is a percussive mid-pace showcase, a slow bluesy crawl, its shine is due to Chase’s insistence. Phenomena is another stellar effort from the skinsman, an expansive groove. Honeybear bears intricate percussion. Cheated Hearts is pretty regular on rhythm, Dudley as well, exercises in genres (aping Maps and THE STROKES, respectively). Mysteries goes as smooth as Way Out. The Sweets bears minimalist percussion akin to JOY DIVISION which it’s terrific! Warrior’s best qualities reside in the moody rhythmic oscillation. Turn Into is generic, but not due to percussion, which is fine business as usual.

As the songs go, we find that Gold Lion is a minor gem, modest good contributions from all members, nevertheless it’s not on par with Fever To Tell singles, it signs the sophomore slump and the resort to exotisms (SIOUXSIE’s Arabian Nights etc) from the 1980s to hide the decaying songwriting. Way Out could have been a near-classic, bold and steady, but the chorus and Karen are not particularly inspired ones, so it remains a nice track. Fancy is the first weak link, a band too damaged to stand up on the floor, remaining on generic muddy bluesy shores. Phenomena is a notch above, Glammy and punchy, the best track on this irregular record. Honeybear almost succeeds on a nice epic but fails due to poor synths, it’s just nice. Cheated Hearts fails once again, this time to recap the power art-punk balladry of Maps, Karen is so shy and leashed. Dudley is just regular sub-STROKES, it could have been an You Only Live Once’s B-Side, if you like it. Mysteries is another failed genre exercise (Cow-Punk), but the coda it’s positively frightening! The Sweets is the closer they get to SUEDE, which is fine. Warrior satisfies for all its’ striking unexpectedness for YEAH YEAH YEAHS turned KATE BUSH. Turn Into is a shy, contrived number that could have worked marvels and shredded some wrists all those Fever To Tell yesterdays.

YEAH YEAH YEAHS left the best composition of the 2006 crop for a humble B-side, Deja-Vu, which tops half Fever To Tell and bears genuine heartbreak, Karen On the jugular, inspired riffs and savage rhythm. It has a permanent place on my 2006 Top 10 (http://www.epinions.com/content_4780892292).

That is: Show Your Bones is definitely bone-dry. See ya!

File under: Sophomore slump

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http://www.epinions.com/content_197490609796
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ART BRUT

Tracklist:

* * * * Gold Lion
* * * * Way Out
* * * Fancy
* * * * 1/2 Phenomena
* * * * Honeybear
* * * 1/2 Cheated Hearts
* * * 1/2 Dudley
* * * 1/2 Mysteries
* * * * The Sweets
* * * * Warrior
* * * * Turn Into

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends