Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito - Review

Everyone's Favorite Indie Art Punks Show Their Multiple Personalities on “Mosquito”

 

The Yeah Yeah Yeah's open their fourth studio album, “Mosquito”, with a bang. On “Sacrilege”, they explore the absolution of religion in a fun and theatrical way. Karen O sounds both powerful and vulnerable when she sings “and I plead and I pray” as Nick Zinner channels Johnny Marr with his perfectly light and simple guitar riffs weaved throughout. The song reaches it's climax as The Broadway Inspirational Voices Choir takes over singing “It's sacrilege, you say”. There's no doubt about it, this song is powerful, but the rest of the album does not live up to the promise of “Sacrilege”. It's still a good album, just a bit uneven.

Where “Mosquito” runs into trouble is when the band tries to channel their punk roots. “Area 52” and the track “Mosquito” could have easily fit in on the YYY's - EP, in a bad way. The Yeah Yeah Yeah's have grown so much as a band that it is disappointing to hear songs that are obvious on a musical and lyrical level. You would think that the combination of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and James Murphy would be the stuff of legends but “Buried Alive”, produced by Murphy, is just okay and begins to border on strange after a completely out of place verse from Kool Keith's alter ego Dr. Octagon.

The other high points of “Mosquito” are the soft sensitive songs. “Subway” is lonely and feels very New York as Karen's voice fades into a background of train noises and an aura of synths. Drummer Brian Chase explores some interesting rhythm and percussion elements in the mysterious and supernatural “Under the Earth”. And just like with their 2003 debut “Fever To Tell”, “Mosquito” ends with three gorgeous love songs.

2009's “It's Blitz!” was a masterpiece, fuzing Karen's love for fun and synths with Nick's seriousness and rock and roll. That's a tough act to follow. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs did a good job, but it could have been great.

Mosquito – 4/5 Stars