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Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Show Your Bones
Interscope Records
Kicking off with the beat of about seven different Pixies songs, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' sophomore effort (discounting the group's manic, miraculous self-titled EP)
Show Your Bones
shows promise that quickly
wilts. The first track, "Gold Lion" feels right, as if the YYYs have matured in a way that hasn't intruded on their wiry sound and singer Karen O's psycho sonic boom. But then the whole sophomore curse kicks in with "Way Out," a suitable song, one that would prove a standout on a lesser band's disc, but the classic rock chorus and too-comfortable guitar licks lack the verve and zing, the creepy tension, that has marked other YYYs output. And therein lies the epitome of where
Show Your Bones
fails-the sharp edges are gone, replaced by almost-there riffs and not-quite-dirty-enough fuzz. The entire disc feels like when your crazy uncle quits drinking-less scary than before, perhaps, but also more boring. Things don't get interesting, oddly enough, until the final trio of songs: "The Sweets," "Warrior," and "Turn Into," all three of which, by stripping things down, do more to generate tension than the rest of the album combined. Still, all three put together don't equal the edgy, mix-tape sweetness of
Fever to Tell
's crossover hit "Maps."
This is a band with so much potential, so much energy, it's a shame they've succumbed to sophomore stiffness. Here's hoping Karen O finds that inner satirical psycho she channelled so forcefully on earlier songs like "Art Star." In the meantime, where it once felt O was living on the razor's edge, now it just feels like she uses it to shave her legs.
