The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Succeed At Being Bitingly Clever With "Mosquito"

My hat's off to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for taking their new record, "Mosquito", and injecting it with the kookiest elements of a Bjork opus and the dance friendly zing of No Doubt's "Rock Steady". Vocalist/pianist Karen O's frame of mind is slightly askew and that's all the better for this record because the more unhinged the surrounding ear tapestry the more compelling this rowboat ride through Strangetown is. Here's to genuine downtown street culture as pierced together with "Subway". You can see the graffiti paintings in all their slum crusted splendor. Karen's intensity level serves "Sacrilege" well. Brimstone manifests itself through Brian Chase banging away and Nick Zinner inspiring hosannas via his keyboard showmanship. "Slave" burrows under one's skin from the opening. Your most vulnerable cerebral nodes are no match for the organic rhythms. For the most part Nick succeeds in planting keyboard in such advantageous spots that they often become the infectious side attraction lending that fifth gear zoom factor to Karen's possessed by the alt-rock devil hyper focus. This is proof that a vocal chorus is not the only aspect of music that lends itself to being tagged "earwig". A keyboard has just as much ability to be irresistible if the set of notes aligns just right. New wave '80s band Berlin proves my point throughout "The Metro". From an instrument vantage point the song itself is about as weighty as an angel food cake but the keyboard drilled into my head with a Kung Fu grip and was impossible to shake. It very much lent the soap opera spirit of drama to the single. Nick accompanies Karen. He's by her side in the studio. He's not trying to steal her thunder. He just wants to drop in some curiosities to keep the shop operating with a little ready cash in the till. "Always" is the rare bead on this necklace where Karen's dialed up emotional response is unrequited craving rather than zealous tour guide who's taking us all through tripped out backstreets with the confidence of a seasoned vet who really has seen all this oddball turf before. In her own way she marvels at the disarray. How much fun is it to court the darker shadings of the mind. The title track finds Karen mouthing the word mosquito so dementedly you want to toss her a can of bug spray before any long term nerve damage takes root. Even more scintillating is The Yeah Yeah Yeahs made a nutty track high on foot shuffling possibilities. In order to sample this album I went to YouTube where both the full album and band members discussing their intentions in making this full album were found. Karen describes it as a Yeah Yeah Yeahs soul record. I can see that. I also think "Sacrilege" was the ideal pole position tune. You too may spontaneously erupt in hand raising testimony. Mosquito bites are not pleasant. The Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Mosquito" on the other hand is a captivating treat that merits taking out or plugging in for a vigorous spin. This alt rock soul trio finds the beat and adds fresh twists to it.