The problem with this album is not a lack of quality. In fact, much of It’s Blitz! is fairly solid. But like how M. Night Shyamalan’s last two films had me guessing at a plot twist that never came, breaking a mold and altering the brand can leave the audience wanting. But there are too-many keyboard-induced, epic arias led by a female to warrant another entry. I don’t need Karen O going soft.
That seems to be the theme this time around though as O and band mates Brian Chase and Nick Zinner paint a more intimate landscape. However the result is sometimes unfocused. For example, “Soft Shock” begins benignly, almost dream-like in composition, but soon the vocals and background diverge. By song’s end it has forgotten where it perhaps wanted to go and simply adds more and harder layers. It almost works in a way, but shows that maybe the band isn’t ready to fully commit.
Nowhere though is the need to reject much of O’s riot-girl stigma more apparent than on “Skeletons,” an interlude of sorts that almost evokes an image of valiant young men marching off to battle. It’s a wonderful spread of sound, epic in aspirations while staying minimalist in composition. In addition, the band catches another whiff of inspiration with the manic “Dull Life,” a pulsating rhythm punctuated by cerebral stretches of quiet, lyric-driven melodies.
The biggest appeal though is the persistent feeling that there are deeper themes at work. It’s Blitz! does this well on “Runaway” with vocals taking on a Tegan Quinn-like pleading quality conveying a sincere earnestness and sense of genuine concern. Likewise for “Hysteric,” a sleepy, indie-tinged exclamation of contentment, Karen O rejects her trademark squeaky, throaty grunts of ecstasy over wildly sparse arrangements for more nuanced, dynamic crooning to craft a less in-your-face number.
Again however, though one could defend the change of tone (often within individual songs themselves) as adaptability and a desire for exploration, the result is less than what I would like from the group, or at least what they project as their image.
Short Buzz: Harder and faster please, Coldplay already has a chick singer.
Tags: Billy Buzz, It's Blitz, Karen O, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
