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Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Maps”

I decided to pop in my copy of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s debut album, “Fever to Tell” because from what I remember their sound is fantastic and I felt like listening to something that would get me through the day without me falling asleep and I have something to say in regards to this album: I listened to it around an hour ago and it’s roughly an hour of music… in many regards, this 3-person band is one of the best ones to come out in the past 6 years but there’s something to point out here. There definitely is… if you listen to the album from the very beginning, you’ll notice that it’s all about the music… the guitar’s on point and the drums are awesome, all of it sounding like it was recorded in a basement or garage somewhere… the vocals, performed by frontwoman Karen O, can pretty much be translated to screaming and welping. Her lyrics are broken down and cryptic, and somehow seem overshadowed by the other instruments at play around her. It’s mostly like that throughout the album… until track number 9. It’s like something happened between track 8 and 9 that was so inherently powerful that it mellowed everyone out… the result? “Maps,” probably one of the most heart-wrenching, powerful rock ballads to ever be created.

I don’t use that term lightly, either. I forgot the song even existed until this afternoon and I forgot how much I liked it. In context with the rest of the album though, you notice even more how special that track is… it doesn’t compare to its direct continuation of the story it tells, “Y-Control.” Excellent track as well… it’s as if they left the last 10 minutes of the record to totally blow the listener’s mind. It’s as if the classroom clown had been fucking around in class for the past 40 minutes and suddenly he goes to the whiteboard and cracks the physics problem no one else could solve. The gear-shifting is so sudden that it kind of leaves you up in the air… just when you thought you had these guys pegged, “Maps” comes in and overwhelms you.

What a great song.

I recommend yo get the album and their sophomore effort, “Show Your Bones.” They sound less of a garage band without leaving behind what got them where they are in the first place. There’s still a lot of anguish, anger and rebellion in their sound, but it’s an evolved sense of discomfort that drives them now. Great band all around, and considering their weakest link can realize when she can shine and blow the doors off the building without having to scream or be wild, you’ve got one of the great rock acts of the past few years waiting to blow your mind. Enjoy the tracks.

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