yeah yeah yeahs 'is is' ep - a return to form

the yeah yeah yeahs are back with an excellent 5 song ep. a few of the tracks were performed live and put on their 'rockers to swallow' dvd that came out over a year ago. they were rerecorded in the studio for this ep. the other two are brand new, never-before-released. a fine collection, for sure.



'rockers to swallow' sounds as if it could be (and very well may be) an outtake from their early days. it is gritty, noisy, and crazy. it actually reminds me a bit of the song in the movie 'high fidelity' by the kinky wizards (those skateboard kids), which i think is actually done by royal trux. i think it is just how the vocals sound. easily the most rockin' song on the ep.

'down boy' makes me think of what would happen if 'fever to tell' yyys jumped into a blender with 'show your bones' yyys and hit puree. it is quite a lovely tune, with karen o switching effortlessly between smooth, sweet vocals during the verses and her trademark high-pitched squeals during the choruses. a bit of organ or keyboard is mixed in as well.

'kiss kiss' is straight-forward, fast-paced rock. i like this one a lot. it builds up throughout the song, then stops short, allowing karen o to finish it off with a bit of a cappella.

'isis' starts out a bit tame, but ends with lots of heavy guitar, cymbal crashes, and screaming. lovely.

'10 x 10' is a great song as well, although a bit tame. it works well to end this small collection of songs, though. it builds up a bit near the end, then it fades out with nick zinner's tinny one-note guitar picking.

do yourself a favor and pick this one up. it is available at your friendly neighborhood independent music store, i am sure, for under $7. no excuses! besides, have they ever let you down before?