Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz

If ever there was any doubt that the fabled 'New York Sound' has moved along then the metamorphosis of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs should be ample proof.

The first thing to say is that, for YYYs fans, you may need to grab a small quantity of whatever relaxes you before you fire up It's Blitz, this album is indeed the faintly terrifying sound of genre switching.

Even a cursory glance at the album's Wikipedia pages will show that the band have moved from the delightful 'Art-Punk' classification on Fever To Tell to the rather more grown-up sounding 'Avant Pop' with It's Blitz.

So, before we get started on the review, it's time to launder this album from the dirty stains of preconceptions, in fact, let's send Shane Ritchie to your mind to perform the Daz doorstep challenge. If you made it through that then we can begin.

It's Blitz is truly an incredible piece of music fizzing with the kind of emotional baggage that is routinely stripped from music in the name of cool.

Now you're going to read reviews that compare this album to MGMT or The Killers or in extreme cases The Klaxons. Ignore everything you read, these are just the fumblings of a thousand agoraphobics finding themselves in Times Square. Sometime guitar band? Plays Synthesizer? the good news is that you can't file this using multiple choice and that is what allows it to stand out.

The only album that It's Blitz can compare to is indeed 'Fever To Tell' - stylistically it is profoundly different but good music has always been about the success of substance over style. Karen O sings with a depth of texture that only she can match and It's Blitz is a trip through the sweet shop of her vocal talents.

Lead single 'Zero' opens up the album, a disarmingly simple meander around a vibrating beat. It is a simple jab to test the water before the right hook of 'Heads Will Roll'. If one track encapsulates the brilliance of this album then 'Heads Will Roll' is the one to download by any means necessary.

Going back to Fever To Tell you're reminded of the way that on 'Maps' Karen O was able to craft a melody of heart-pummeling brilliance around what was essentially one guitar note. It's Blitz carries off the same trick on a bigger scale, listen to the opening of 'Skeletons' and the simple Casio tones of 'Runaway' and whilst the instrumental is minimal, the effect is mesmerising.

With It's Blitz, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have cemented their reputation as one of the true masters of their craft, the album does what all great albums do and simply makes itself disappear leaving you absorbed in the moment.

It's Blitz stands as a superior album to 'Show Your Bones' and at times equals the brilliance of 'Fever To Tell' which by way of context must rank as one of the great albums of the decade. Give it some time and space and even Art-Punk devotees should be able to appreciate that sometimes change is worth believing in.