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 NICK ZINNER, of New York rockers YEAH YEAH YEAHS, catches up with ALASDAIR DUNCAN to solve some of the mysteries behind the band’s latest release.
The first time I came across the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was in 2003, when British style bible The Face ran a profile of the then up-and-coming young band, accompanied by that era’s ultimate stamp of cool, a Terry Richardson photo shoot. They certainly looked the part of callow, Williamsburg hipsters – lipstick-smeared singer Karen O snarled as she tore apart old C-90 cassette tapes, while drummer Brian Chase, in his Black Flag shirt and three-day growth, looked vaguely startled at the presence of the camera. Guitarist Nick Zinner, though, was the most striking figure of all. Tall and rake-thin, he was dressed in a vintage t-shirt and his black hair was so high it was as though he’d stuck his finger in an electrical socket. His eyes were creepily calm, and he held a flick-knife to his own throat. I didn’t know who the hell these three people were, but I certainly wanted to know more.
As it turned out, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be the most enduring and successful band of the class of 2003. Their debut album, Fever To Tell, was a messy and joyously noisy affair; packed with indie dance floor anthems, it also included the droning, beautiful Maps, probably the best mix tape song of the decade. The success of this album led to infinitely more magazine coverage, more high-end photo shoots, and a seldom-seen, Spike Jonze-directed video for the song Y Control, which caused a stir thanks to its casually graphic violence. Then came Show Your Bones – though this shambling, Sonic Youth-y follow up was way more reflective and arty than their debut, tracks like Cheated Hearts still brought the raucous fun. None of this could have prepared fans for It’s Blitz!, though, which is easily the band’s most adventurous and bizarre album to date.
Much has been made of unusual array of sounds present on It’s Blitz! – the moment the album leaked, the scarily devoted music geeks on the ILX forums were debating whether the swooshing, buzzing noises on tracks like Zero and Soft Shock were keyboards or heavily tweaked and processed guitars. When I ask Zinner if he can put the guitars versus keyboards debate to rest for me, he tells me that both are present on the album, in more or less equal amounts.
"We just started fucking around with keyboards as a new element to incorporate and be inspired by – we really just wanted to expand on what we do," he says. While it was a bold move for the band to incorporate so many keyboards onto It’s Blitz!, which is easily their most dance floor-friendly release to date, Zinner tells me that the new sound does not feel like a departure to them. "It’s more like a continuation of the path we’ve been on. Adding keyboards just seemed like the next step."
One new song I’m particularly interested in is Skeletons; at track four, it’s the first moment that the tempo drops back, and Karen O sings lyrics like ‘skeleton you, skeleton me’ over a backing so slow and dreamy it could be an old My Bloody Valentine record. In an enthusiastic (if wildly confusing) review of the track, indie music blog Pitchfork said: "Little kids in exposed skull costumes were always scarier than the ghosts and vampires, and I’m now starting to realize why. Karen O sees what’s underneath, and she’s staring right at it." I’m not quite sure that that means, but they loved the song and so do I. It’s not as bombastic as Zero, or as danceable as Heads Will Roll, but it might well be the album’s greatest hidden gem.
Skeletons, it turns out, was the very first song written for It’s Blitz!. "We were setting up in the studio and I was unpacking a box with a little shitty keyboard I bought on eBay," Zinner tells me, "and it literally came out right there – half an hour later, the song was done. It came out of nowhere. That was a good day." When the Yeah Yeah Yeahs write songs, they go into a bubble, shutting out all unnecessary distractions to focus on what they are doing. Zinner, a fan of Mötley Crüe and Public Enemy, is a punk at heart, and the idea of sitting around with a band and jamming infuriates him, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil. "There was a lot of jamming that went on with this record," he sighs, "which I really hate to do, but you gotta do it I guess."
It’s inevitable these days that a high-profile album like the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs will leak onto torrent sites and Rapidshare weeks before its official release. This was the case with It’s Blitz!, and though the band are annoyed, they’re prepared to be philosophical. "Obviously it’s incredibly frustrating and kind of disheartening," Zinner tells me, "if only for the sake of our labels, who are tearing their hair out." In a nutshell, the band’s attitude is, it sucks, but that’s what happens. "There’s nothing we can do about it, so we’re not going to be crying to anyone about it," he continues. "At the same time, though, the fact that it has leaked means that people must want to hear it and be excited about hearing it – I hope from there that more people will want to hear it, and come see us play."
Before I can let Zinner go, I feel that there is one more issue I need to quiz him on – perhaps the most pressing question of all. Back in 2006, when the Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeahs were getting ready for their sophomore release, an absurd rumour began, via the internet, that the band had recorded a concept album about the adventures of Karen O’s cat, and were calling it Coco Beware. Although the actual album, Show Your Bones, had no feline-centric tracks at all, at the time, the rumour seemed so genuine that even MTV were reporting it. Earlier this year, a similar story spread that the band’s forthcoming album, It’s Blitz!, would be themed around cats. Are the band themselves behind this, I wonder?
Zinner laughs at this suggestion. "The last time that one went around, our producer was responsible. I didn’t know it had happened again this year but that’s great." That’s not to say, though, that there is not some truth behind the rumour. "There was actually a kitten that showed up on our doorstep when we were recording in Texas who was kind of the band’s muse," he continues, "or two thirds of the band’s muse. There were kittens in the making of Show Your Bones as well. There’s just something about cats and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs – we’re attracted to each other." Is it likely that the band will cave into pressure and release a kitten-themed album next time around? "Definitely," Zinner deadpans. "It will probably be a hip hop record."
IT’S BLITZ! is released through Modular on Apr 10. Check out www.yeahyeahyeahs.com for more information.
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