i cannot begin to describe how much i love this band. mostly because Karen O's genius vocals take a bit of me with every listen. they rock the NY way - in that noisy, smokey, garage pub rock way and suddenly do the turn and slip into the acoustic with supreme ease. they can put me out of any misery i may have. they make me tell the world to fuck off. this Brooklyn art-rock trio isn't trying to please anyone. they do their thing just they way like it. so get your leather on or fuck off (it's the music doing the talking now).
the Yeah Yeah Yeah's 2006 album Show Me Your Bones was a gargantous album with tracks such as 'Cheated Hearts' and 'Gold Lion' making it to the top of many charts. they broke all bounds with that one. their new album - It's Blitz - has a brand spanking new sound - a daring reinvention with disco beats that resonate from Brooklyn streets, a synth-pop touch, and a cleaner, maturer style, but with the only constant - Karen Os clear-as-water 'Budweiser-banshee wail'.
'Heads will Roll' is as exlposive as its title - a slick disco-rock call to the dancefloor. ear open for the barely-audibly, but sexy as hell, 'uh-oh's' in 'Soft Shock'. 'Skeleton' is breathtaking. for YYY lovers there's a pop rendition of their previous beautiful acoustic number 'Hysteric'. then Karen's O's crying vocals in 'Zero' enunciates the band's underlying ethic - that they'll play their music the way they want to and the critics can, well...fuck off.
folk-rock again. can’t help it. AA Bondy’s sophomore album (2009) - When the Devil's Loose – has got me hooked to its roomy languid music and haunting lyrics.
Scot Bondy’s got a lot of flak for dramatically moving on from much-loved Verbena – his earlier indie-rock band – to his acoustic guitar and harmonica. so it came as a surprise when his debut album American Hearts, a one-man show, got the number of listeners it did. for When the Devil's Loose, Bondy’s put together a band and the results have been stellar.
his lyrics are poetry and the intricate detailing of music (echoing mics that complement the song ‘When the Devil’s Loose) is genius. the opener ‘Mightiest of Guns’ is a favourite with its Dylan-like lyrics and feel. that indie sound picks ‘I Can See the Pines are Dancing’ as the winner; weary yet soul-lifting, its lucid and earthy lyrics remind me of Neruda’s poetry.
I Can See the Pines are Dancing
this is a hammer this is a hymn this is a match to a ball of lies this is the blade this is the beauty these are the stars raining down from the sky
this is the light that shines and
I can see the pines are dancing
this is the leaving of another love this is the howling at the moon these are the arms you fell into i am a fire and I must burn today
this is an echo this is the glory this is the pounding of a midnight heart this is the mountains this is the lightning this is the man pulling on his iron chains this is the light that shines and I can see the pines are dancing this is the leaving of another love this is the howling at the moon these are the arms you fell into i am a fire and I must burn today
