Released on 19/06/06
Label: Polydor

The return of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs a few months back was met in certain quarters with utter joy and then a slight return of vague hump. The group's initial emergence in 2003, as a spiky club of twisted noise plus weirdo feline kung fu star, truly offered something quite spectacular, alongside the equally glittering Strokes and White Stripes. And yet comeback LP "Show Your Bones", as the title implied, found the NYC trio shedding much of their unhinged, jagged power for a peek inside Karen O's now less insane, more perplexed head.

It's a rewarding journey and not half as challenging as the one O herself embarked upon during the recording of the LP. Ditching New York for the Californian desert, the resulting album may lack the confusion and decadent noise of its predecessor, but it makes up for that with a series of elegant, blue anthems Xeroxed from the "Maps" blueprint. "Turn Into" is one such example, as Karen spins exuberantly through a rollercoaster ride of hope and aspiration, that insists triumph is within grasp. And for those still hankering for the dementia of yore, just check Nick Zinner's frazzled, chainsaw guitar solo running alongside like a drunk seagull.

People, Yeah Yeah Yeahs still rule.

    by Ben Gilbert