It's Blitz!

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It's Blitz!
Studio album by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Released March 9, 2009 (2009-03-09)
Recorded 2008 at Sonic Ranch, Tornillo, TX; Long View Farm Studios, North Brookfield, MA; Stay Gold Studio, Brooklyn, NY; The Boat, Los Angeles, CA; Seedy Underbelly, Valley Village, CA
Genre Indie rock, dance punk, synthpop
Length 41:49
Label Interscope
Producer Nick Launay, Dave Sitek
Yeah Yeah Yeahs chronology
Is Is
(2007)		 It's Blitz!
(2009)
Singles from It's Blitz!
  1. "Zero"
    Released: February 24, 2009
  2. "Heads Will Roll[1]"
    Released: June 29, 2009
  3. "Skeletons"
    Released: February 1, 2010

It's Blitz! is the third studio album by American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released March 9, 2009 on Interscope Records. It was originally set for release on April 13, 2009, however after being leaked to the internet on February 22,[2] the release date was pushed forward to March 9 for the digital version and March 31 for the physical version.[3] The rest of the world release date was on April 6, 2009. The first single "Zero" was released on February 24, 2009. The album was produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, PiL), along with TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek.[4]

The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album on December 2, 2009.[5]

Contents

[edit] Recording

According to Nick Launay, one of the two producers, the recording of the album was unusual for being largely written and created in the studio at a time when record labels have cut back considerably on production budgets. The few songs the band did take along to the first sessions were later altered significantly.[6] Launay described a typical session as follows:

"Brian [Chase] would play lots of different drumbeats and we'd record it, chop it up and then make a groove loop out of it. Nick (Zinner) would then just jam to it, and we'd come up with an interesting rhythm part. Karen [O] would listen to that and come up with a vocal melody and then suddenly everything would fall into place."[6]

The album sessions took place over several months in 2008, during which time there were numerous breaks "to get inspired".[6]

[edit] Critical reaction

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars....[7]
Robert Christgau (A-)[8]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[9]
Los Angeles Times 3.5/4 stars...[10]
Pitchfork Media (8.1/10)[11]
PopMatters (8/10)[12]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars....[13]
Slant Magazine 4/5 stars....[14]
Spin 4.5/5 stars....[15]
The Village Voice (favorable)[16]

The album has been very well received by critics, having a weighted average rating of 82/100 (Universal acclaim), according to Metacritic, based on 36 reviews.[17] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan gave it 4 out of 5 stars and commended the band's more dance-oriented sound, writing "the band's glittery new disco sound suits them very well. It's all cool, brittle catchiness, with a debt owed to Eat to the Beat-era Blondie".[18] Emily Mackay of NME gave the album an 8/10 rating and wrote that "It's Blitz!'s heartfelt love letter to the transcendent possibilities of the dancefloor is an unexpectedly emphatic reassertion of why Yeah Yeah Yeahs are one of the most exciting bands of this decade",[19] while Spin's Charles Aaron said that it is "the alternative pop album of the decade—one that imbues The Killers' Hot Fuss and MGMT's Oracular Spectacular with a remarkable emotional depth and finesse".[20] Later that year, Spin would place the album second on their best albums of 2009 list.[21] Meanwhile, in a track-by-track preview of the album, The Fly said that It's Blitz! is "an amazing return for Yeah Yeah Yeahs... an instant classic", later giving the album a rating of 4.5 out of 5.[22][23]

The BBC called the album "a triumphant return for New York's finest".[24] Clash commented that the trio had achieved growth without distancing themselves from what made their name: "The album proves that they can provide epic music with personal themes, that YYYs can expand without losing what made us fall for them in the first place".[25] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that the band "grapple with separation and need, using dance beats to suggest the compulsive pleasure seeking that tries to drown out loneliness", and he commended their musical direction, stating "The band is echoing the evolution of postpunk, from dogmatic austerity to technologically assisted".[26] However, Tiny Mix Tapes commented, "From most bands, half of a great record would be an incredible accomplishment, but we’ve heard so much better from them" and awarded the album 2.5/5.[27] Nick Butler of Sputnikmusic, while praising the album with an overall score of 3.5/5, summarized the album will "probably date badly and, despite clearly being better than Fever to Tell, it probably won't be remembered by as many people, or as fondly by those people".[28] Uncut's April Long gave it 4 out of 5 stars and praised its "spirit of experimentation", stating "What unifies them is a warm romanticism that runs throughout, edging out Karen’s blatant eroticism of yore – even though there are more come-downs than come-ons, every song seems to glow from within".[29]

[edit] Accolades

It's Blitz! was ranked as the third best album of the year 2009 by NME and second best by Spin.[30][31] Both magazines also listed the song "Zero" as the best of the year.[32][33]

Rhapsody called it the 12th best album of 2009.[34]

[edit] Track listing

All tracks written by Brian Chase, Karen Orzolek and Nick Zinner

No. Title Length
1. "Zero"   4:25
2. "Heads Will Roll"   3:41
3. "Soft Shock"   3:53
4. "Skeletons"   5:02
5. "Dull Life"   4:08
6. "Shame and Fortune"   3:31
7. "Runaway"   5:13
8. "Dragon Queen"   4:02
9. "Hysteric"   3:50
10. "Little Shadow"   3:57

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position		 Sales
Australian Albums Chart[35] 8 40,000+
UK Albums Chart[36] 9 100,000+
Irish Albums Chart [37] 10
U.S. Billboard 200 [38] 22 200,000+
New Zealand Albums Chart [39] 22
Canadian Albums Chart [40] 18
Belgian (Flanders)[41] 23
Danish Albums Chart[42] 40
Mexican Albums Chart[43] 56
Norwegian Albums Chart[44] 12
Austrian Albums Chart[45] 61
German Albums Chart [46] 71
Swiss Albums Chart [47] 85
French Albums Chart[48] 160

[edit] References

  1. ^ Graff, Gary (May 19, 2009). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs Leave Heads Rolling On The Road". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/yeah-yeah-yeahs-leave-heads-rolling-on-the-1003974435.story. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
  2. ^ "Dit it leak". diditleak.co.uk. http://diditleak.co.uk/?paged=2. Retrieved 2009-04-15. 
  3. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs to release album early due to leak", NME, 2009-03-03. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
  4. ^ Goodman, William. "Exclusive: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Talk New Album", Spin, 2009-02-12. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
  5. ^ "The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List", Grammy.com, December 2, 2009
  6. ^ a b c "Interview With Nick Launay", HitQuarters, 16 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  7. ^ Phares, Heather. Review: It's Blitz!. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: It's Blitz!". MSN Music: May 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-06-10.
  9. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon. Review: It's Blitz!. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  10. ^ Wood, Mikael. Review: It's Blitz!. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  11. ^ Love, Joshua. Review: It's Blitz!. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  12. ^ Sawdey, Evan. Review: It's Blitz!. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  13. ^ Rosen, Jody. Review: It's Blitz!. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  14. ^ Keefe, Jonathan. Review: It's Blitz!. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  15. ^ Aaron, Charles. Review: It's Blitz!. Spin. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  16. ^ Weber, Theon. Review: It's Blitz!. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  17. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/yeahyeahyeahs/itsblitz. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
  18. ^ Sullivan, Caroline. Review: It's Blitz!. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  19. ^ Mackay, Emily. Review: It's Blitz!. NME. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  20. ^ Aaron, Charles (March 18, 2009). "'It's Blitz!' review". Spin. http://www.spin.com/reviews/yeah-yeah-yeahs-its-blitz-interscope. Retrieved 2009-06-06. 
  21. ^ "The 40 Best Albums of 2009". Spin. 2009-12-07. Archived from the original on 2011-12-26. http://www.spin.com/gallery/40-best-albums-2009?page=39#main. Retrieved 2011-12-26. 
  22. ^ Doherty, Niall. "First Listen: Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'It's Blitz!'", The Fly, 2009-02-19. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
  23. ^ Doherty, Niall. 'It's Blitz!' review, The Fly, 2009-03-23. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
  24. ^ Jones, Chris. "A triumphant return for New York's finest.", BBC, 2009-03-09. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
  25. ^ Murray, Robin. "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!, Album three from the NYC trio...", Clash, 2009-03-13. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
  26. ^ Pareles, Jon. Review: It's Blitz!. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  27. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!". Tiny Mix Tapes. http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Yeah-Yeah-Yeahs,8622. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  28. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz!". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=29880. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
  29. ^ Long, April. Review: It's Blitz!. Uncut. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  30. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2009". NME. http://www.nme.com/list/50-best-albums-of-2009/159978/. Retrieved 13 December 2009. 
  31. ^ "The 40 Best Albums of 2009". Spin. December 7, 2009. http://www.spin.com/gallery/40-best-albums-2009?page=39. Retrieved 17 December 2009. 
  32. ^ "50 Best Tracks of 2009". NME. http://www.nme.com/list/50-best-tracks-of-2009/159979. Retrieved 13 December 2009. 
  33. ^ Spin Staff (December 7, 2009). "The 20 Best Songs of 2009". Spin. http://www.spin.com/articles/20-best-songs-2009. Retrieved 17 December 2009. 
  34. ^ The 25 Best Albums of 2009 Referenced July 31, 2010
  35. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs (album)". ARIA. http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_album.asp?chart=1G50. Retrieved 2009-04-13. 
  36. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs (album)". BPI. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/albums.shtml. Retrieved 2009-04-12. 
  37. ^ "IRMA Charts". IRMA. http://www.irma.ie/aucharts.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-09. 
  38. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs (album)". BB200. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?f=The+Billboard+200&pageNumber=Top+11-50&g=Albums. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
  39. ^ "RIANZ Charts". RIANZ. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-13. 
  40. ^ "Canadian Charts". Canoe Jam!. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html. Retrieved 2009-04-09. 
  41. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs (album)". ULTRATOP. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Yeah+Yeah+Yeahs&titel=It%27s+Blitz%21&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-04-11. 
  42. ^ "Denmark Albums Top 40". αCharts. http://acharts.us/denmark_albums_top_40. Retrieved 2009-05-01. 
  43. ^ "YEAH YEAH YEAHS – IT'S BLITZ! (ALBUM)". AMPROFON. http://mexicancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Yeah+Yeah+Yeahs&titel=It%27s+Blitz%21&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
  44. ^ "VG-lista Topp 40". Stilsikker. http://lista.vg.no/artist_info.php?ArtistOp=show&artistId=3967. Retrieved 2009-08-26. 
  45. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs (album)". 0E3. http://charts.orf.at/oe3/longplay/2009/woche15/main. Retrieved 2009-04-15. 
  46. ^ "German". RIANZ. http://www.musicload.de/officialcharts. Retrieved 2009-04-17. 
  47. ^ "Swiss". Swiss. http://swisscharts.com/weekchart.asp?cat=a. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  48. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs (album)". IFPI. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Yeah+Yeah+Yeahs&titel=It%27s+Blitz%21&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-04-15. 
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