I’ve always liked the idea of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs more than the actual band itself.  Let me explain what that means:  The concept of a three-piece band fronted by an Amazonian-like front woman backed by two music geeks making angular, proto-punk rock sounds like “indie rock nirvana”.  It was this very same band dynamic that drew me to the very first PJ Harvey album, actually.  The big issue I had with Polly Jean and the boys is that at some point the focus obviously turned to the screaming man woman with the guitar, and what started out as a bonafide band turned into a solo project.  The Yeah Yeah Yeahs at least maintain the gang mentality, which works in their favour; they are definitely not the Karen O show, as Nick Zinner and Brian Chase are the essential ingredients in what is one of contemporary music’s most intriguing music stew.

So why is it that I’ve never really taken to the band, try as I might?  I came close with “Gold Lion” from 2006’s Show Your Bones, but the album itself failed to impress me, and I really didn’t like their first album, Fever To Tell at all (although I do enjoy rocking to “Maps” on Rock Band).  Oddly enough, though, every time I hear about a new album, I’m lured into hoping that this will be the one that does it for me.  I must be drawn to this magical ideal of the ultimate power trio, hoping that they’ll live up to the expectations I’ve set for them.

Will third time be the charm, then?  Next Tuesday, the band release It’s Blitz! and I’ve had the chance to listen to it, and I can definitely say I’m feeling it.  They’ll be streaming the full album on their Myspace site today, so you can head over and check it out for yourself.  I don’t think I’m ready to put my thoughts to paper yet, but you can rest assured I’ll have something more to say in the next while.

Stream: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Zero”
Myspace: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs