IT'S THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS' TIME TO BE HATED!!!!

With the NYC-based trio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs gaining a well-deserved buzz thanks to their 2003 full-length debut Fever to Tell, they’re currently one of the hottest bands around. With their NYC counterparts the Strokes currently working on a new album and the Liars getting some buzz, NYC is regaining some clout as a force in new rock music. It’s been two years since the Yeah Yeah Yeahs made a name for themselves in NYC, as new fans now are looking back at the two previous EPs the band released prior to Fever to Tell. While Fever to Tell is already the hottest debut of the year, it’s time to go back to the band in the beginning with their self-titled EP.

When the Yeah Yeah Yeahs emerged from the New York City underground in 2001, they were at the right place at the right time as the Strokes were gaining some buzz in the city and overseas in Britain. With other bands like the Hives, the Mooney Suzuki, and the White Stripes gaining buzz for their minimalist, stripped-down approach to garage-punk rock, a new wave of music was emerging. Unfortunately like every new genre, there are the bands that started the scenes and those that are cashing in on it like the Vines, the Ataris, and the D4s. What makes the Yeah Yeah Yeahs different from all of those bands is that they’re more of an art-punk band with elements of funk, new wave, lo-fi rock, and punk. With the pulsating, barreling drums of Brian Chase, the reverb seductive guitars of Nick Zinner, and the sexy, growling vocals of Karen O, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are right now the new leaders of what is cutting edge and this all begin with their 2001 self-titled debut EP.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ self-titled EP is a five-song, 14-minute record filled with rambunctious songs that show the band’s raw, primal sound and eclectic approach to punk. In comparison to the more clean but raw production in Fever to Tell, the production in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs debut EP is more lo-fi but still features that raw, primal sound of the band. Though EPs are design to be mini-records and are very rare to be considered masterpieces (like Nine Inch Nails’ Broken), the Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP is just filled with five great songs showcasing their brilliance as a band as well as Karen O as a vocalist. Each song on the record stands out on its own while the consistency in comparison to Fever to Tell is much better. While it’s a short record, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ debut EP is one hell of a listen.

The first song on the album is Bang as it begins with twangy, distorted guitar riffs from Nick Zinner and break-beat, barreling drumbeats from Brian Chase as Karen O is breathing, very sexually in the background. Then she sings, “You ain’t a baby no more, baby/You ain’t no bigger than before, baby” that is followed by a sexy line as she says, “So take a swallow, and I spit” that is followed by the chorus line of “At the first sign you suck” repeatedly. The song’s funk-drenched twang and break-beat rhythm is both sexy and melodic in its delivery with Karen O delivering the sex in the song as she sings, “If it’s bigger, it’s better” as she twists up words with brilliance as she says, “I need the real thing, yeah, yeah, yeah”. The song even has a clapping coda of scratchy guitars and barreling drums with loud, chiming guitar feedbacks from Zinner.

Mystery Girl is a more, mid-tempo based track with hollow, bass-pounding drums from Brian Chase that is followed by the slithery, dirty guitars of Zinner as Karen O sings. Co-written with Jack Martin, Karen O sings a song about a girl who is mysterious as she sings, “She was a primal institution/She was a danger to herself/But now, that love is cold hearted/Take a deep breath cause it’s now started” that is followed by a chorus of “Mystery girl, mystery girl/yeah, keep on faking that mystery world/Mystery boys will be your toys” as it is followed by a slithery, reverb guitar riff from Zinner. The song’s tempo slowly picks up into a raw, sexier song led by Karen O’s awestruck vocals.

Art Star is a part-funk, part-hard rock song that starts out as a bopping, funk tune with twangy guitars and break-beating rhythms as Karen O sings lyrics in spoken word about New York City. Then the song, goes into a feedback-driven track with fast drum crashes, loud, distorted guitars, and Karen O’s screams. Then the song goes back to its funky part with O singing the melody of “Do-do, do-do-do, do, do-do” as it goes back again to a rocking mode. Karen O sings lyrics of NYC saying she’s got an art gallery and an apartment in the city in this funky, rhythmic song that is fun to dance and mosh to.

Miles Away starts out with Zinner playing a reverb guitar track from Zinner as Karen O sings, “As the cars go by/Under the sun, like the enemy/You wonder, you wonder, you wonder/As the spider comes to look at you like the enemy/You wonder, you wonder, you wonder”. Chase’s drums come in as the song then crashes through with Karen O’s screaming vocals of escapism with Zinner playing a fast, droning guitar track with Karen O saying, “Miles, miles away” as the song’s momentum gets more intense until the end as Zinner plays a dreamy, guitar strum to O’s seductive vocals.

The last and best track on the record is the anti-anthem Our Time as Karen O sings, “I, may be dead honey/But I was left with my eyes/And underneath sugar/I can sum by your eyes/In your heart baby, it’s cold and blue/We’re two of a kind baby/Of me and you” as the song starts off slow with just bluesy, reverb guitar slides from Zinner and Chase’s smooth, pounding drums. Then, the song starts to quiet down to a dreamy tone with Zinner’s melodic, guitar slide as O sings, “It’s our time sweet babe, to break on through/It’s our time to be hated/So glad that we made it/Cause all the kids in the streets/Whispers songs like sweet/The stars under their feet/Well, it’s the year to be hated”. Then, Zinner’s sliding guitar gets louder as Chase’s drums start to pound relentlessly for a jumping chorus of “It’s our time, our time, it’s our time, our time, it’s our time, our time, to be hated”. Then, the song goes into the dreamy tone as it then returns to its powerful kids that begins with Karen saying, “Come on kids” as she sings the song’s second verse with for a momentum building anthem as she is saying to all, “It’s the year to be hated” in a great rock anthem.

Released originally in late 2001 to some obscurity on Wichita Recordings, the EP gained bigger buzz as the Strokes were bringing attention to the new NYC scene. The EP was then re-distributed to Touch & Go Records where it got more buzz on the underground in 2002 as the band released another EP, the 3-song Machine EP that featured a remix of the song Pin. The underground success of the two EPs and the buzz surrounding them in the U.S. and U.K. helped landed a band a deal with Interscope Records where in 2003, they released their first full-length release, Fever to Tell and the rest is history.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ self-titled EP is a must-have record for any fan of the band. Though it’s a short EP ranging at fourteen minutes, it’s some of the best fourteen minutes ever recorded in the past few years. Songs like Our Time, Mystery Girl, and Bang are already live staples for the band and they go up their with current classics like Date With The Night, Maps, Pin, Y Control, and Black Tongue. For those who loved Fever to Tell will enjoy the debut EP from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as fans just want to say “Yeah, yeah, yeah” for more stuff from one of the new hottest bands around.

YYYs Reviews:

Machine - Fever to Tell - Maps - (Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow DVD)- Gold Lion - Show Your Bones - (Turn Into) - Is Is EP - It's Blitz! - Atlanta, GA-Echo Lounge 11/10/03 - Atlanta, GA-Tabernacle 10/14/06