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It's Blitz!

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Untitled

It's Blitz! is the third studio album by American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released on March 9, 2009 by 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 David Andrew Sitek.[4]

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

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[7]
Robert ChristgauA−[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[9]
The Guardian[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]
NME8/10[12]
Pitchfork Media8.1/10[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Slant Magazine[15]
Spin9/10[16]

It's Blitz! received universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 36 reviews.[17] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan commended the band's more dance-oriented sound, writing their "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".[10] Emily Mackay of NME 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",[12] 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".[16] Later that year, Spin would place the album second on their best albums of 2009 list.[18] Theon Weber of The Village Voice said that Karen O "isn't revealed to us through the record's lyrics, which are as gnomic as ever, but through attitudes, tones, put-on sneers, and audible grins."[19] Mojo gave it a score of four stars out of five and wrote that the band has "managed to mix the human and the electronic, the emotional and the artsy, the fashion-forward and the oddly retro."[20]

Blender also gave the album four stars out of five and hailed it as "the sound of a band reborn with new momentum, and on an album that requires dancing, the message is clear: It doesn't matter where you came from. Just keep moving."[21] 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".[22] 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".[23] Uncut's April Long gave it a score of four stars out of five 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".[24]

Accolades

It's Blitz! was ranked as the third best album of the year 2009 by NME and second best by Spin.[25][26] Both magazines also listed the song "Zero" as the best of the year.[27][28]

Rhapsody called it the 12th best album of 2009.[29]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

No.TitleLength
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
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Soft Shock" (Acoustic)3:25
12."Skeletons" (Acoustic)3:29
13."Hysteric" (Acoustic)3:51
14."Little Shadow" (Acoustic)2:53
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Faces"3:33
12."Clap Song" (iTunes pre-order exclusive)3:26

Personnel

Credits adapted from It's Blitz! album liner notes.[30]

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Additional personnel
  • Tunde Adebimpe – backing vocals (8)
  • Atom – assistant engineer
  • Louie Bandack – A&R
  • David Belisle – live Karen and Brian photography
  • Eric Biondo – trumpet (1, 9)
  • Stuart Bogie – tenor saxophone (1, 8, 9); baritone saxophone (8, 9)
  • Tony Ciulla – management
  • Chris Coady – assistant engineer
  • Aaron Dembe – assistant engineer
  • Autumn de Wilde – live band photography
  • Urs Fisher – art direction, cover and inside photography
  • Charles Godfrey – assistant engineer
  • Matty Green – mixing assistant
  • Laura Haber – management
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Chris Kasych – mixing assistant
  • Greg Kurstin – piano (7)
  • Nick Launay – engineer, producer
  • Mike Laza – assistant engineer
  • Justin Leeah – assistant engineer
  • Seb Marling – art direction
  • Chris Moore – assistant engineer
  • Alyssa Pittaluga – assistant engineer
  • Jane Scarpantoni – cello (7)
  • David Andrew Sitek – producer (1–4, 8, 9); additional producer (5); engineer (all tracks)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
  • Eric Uhlir – live Nick photography
  • Imaad Wasif – guitar (10)

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification
Australia[50] Gold
United Kingdom[51] Silver

References

  1. ^ Graff, Gary (May 19, 2009). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs Leave Heads Rolling On The Road". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  2. ^ "Dit it leak". Did it Leak. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. 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. "It's Blitz! - Yeah Yeah Yeahs". 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 (2009-03-20). "It's Blitz Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  10. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (2009-03-19). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz!". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  11. ^ Wood, Mikael (2009-03-30). "Album review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'It's Blitz!'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  12. ^ a b Mackay, Emily (2009-03-26). "Album Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs (It's Blitz!)". NME. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  13. ^ Love, Joshua (2009-03-26). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz!". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  14. ^ Rosen, Jody (2009-03-17). "It's Blitz!". Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  15. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (2009-03-16). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It's Blitz!". Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  16. ^ a b Aaron, Charles (March 18, 2009). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 'It's Blitz!' (Interscope)". Spin. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
  17. ^ "Critic Reviews for It's Blitz". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  18. ^ "The 40 Best Albums of 2009". Spin. 2009-12-07. Archived from the original on 2011-12-26. Retrieved 2011-12-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Weber, Theon (2009-04-01). "The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Bowery Ballroom Blitz". The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  20. ^ "Review: It's Blitz". Mojo. London: 94. 2009. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  21. ^ "Review: It's Blitz!". Blender. 2009. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  22. ^ Murray, Robin (2009-03-13). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!, Album three from the NYC trio...", Clash. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.
  23. ^ Pareles, Jon (2009-03-29). "New CDs (Yeah Yeah Yeahs: 'It's Blitz!')". The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  24. ^ Long, April (2009). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!". Uncut. Retrieved on 2010-06-10.
  25. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2009". NME. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  26. ^ "The 40 Best Albums of 2009". Spin. December 7, 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  27. ^ "50 Best Tracks of 2009". NME. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  28. ^ Spin Staff (December 7, 2009). "The 20 Best Songs of 2009". Spin. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  29. ^ The 25 Best Albums of 2009 Referenced July 31, 2010
  30. ^ It's Blitz! (CD liner notes). Interscope Records. 2009. {{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |publisherid= ignored (help)
  31. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  32. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  33. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  34. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  35. ^ a b c d "It's Blitz! – Yeah Yeah Yeahs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  36. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  37. ^ "European Albums: Week of April 25, 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  38. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  39. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz!" (in German). Media Control. charts.de. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  40. ^ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 9 April 2009". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  41. ^ "Artisti: Classifica settimanale dal 10/04/2009 al 16/04/2009" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  42. ^ "ヤー・ヤー・ヤーズのアルバム売り上げランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 25, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  43. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!". mexicancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  44. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  45. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  46. ^ "Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  47. ^ "2009 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. April 18, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  48. ^ "2009 Year End Charts: Top Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  49. ^ "2009 Year End Charts: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  50. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  51. ^ "British album certifications – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!". British Phonographic Industry. January 7, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type It's Blitz! in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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