After an almost decade-long hiatus, Yeah Yeah Yeahs have returned with their fifth album, “Cool It Down,” putting to rest any doubts about the band’s future. Despite each member being busy with personal projects, Karen O, Brian Chase, and Nick Zinner have come together to deliver a tight set of eight songs that demonstrate their skill for writing hits while defying expectations.
The album opens with the melancholic “Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” featuring Perfume Genius, which sets the tone for a reflective exploration of the world we’ll leave behind for the next generation. “Wolf,” a seductive banger, showcases Karen O at her prime, revealing a greater range and variation in her performance compared to their earlier works or even her solo album “Lux Prima.”
“Burning” sees Nick Zinner momentarily brushing the dust off from his distortion pedal, culminating in an ethereal orchestral explosion, while “Blacktop” showcases the band’s introspective side, with Karen O crooning over cyclical synths and layered instruments, accompanied by Brian Chase‘s signature beat.
Despite the absence of the distorted guitar riffs and breakneck beats that characterized their early days, Yeah Yeah Yeahs continue to deliver compelling hits. The return of Dave Sitek on production duties draws a direct line to their past work, and while “Cool It Down” may lack some of the urgency of their earlier albums, it showcases the band’s maturity and well-roundedness in terms of songwriting, musicianship, and performance. Indeed, this may be their most consistent album to date.
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