Track Review ⊙ Daily Ops Home
Yeah Yeah Yeahs :: "Gold Lion"From Show Your Bones (Interscope; 2006)
These early, cold months need a music story — we critics will grasp at anything during this musical wasteland, and, for better and worse, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are poised to the be the Bright Eyes of 2006. Like Conor, the YYYs hype will be based on genuinely good material paired with good luck (i.e. timing) and bit of good old fashioned gimmickry: two records at once for Conor, a hot Diplo leak for the YYYs. And, like Conor, the YYYs will get to endure a metric shit-ton of hate.
This hate is a hype-fueled inevitability, but “Gold Lion” starts off with a “We Will Rock You” beat, and art-darling Nick Zinner soon enters, twilit, armed with an acoustic guitar. In other words, they’re ready for war. After this organic opening, more electronic elements come into the mix, and Zinner contributes two perfect solos in the middle of the piece, one on electric guitar and another on a Casio. The song takes both and runs with them, leading to a frantic climax just past the 3 minute mark.
And the vocals: no one can “ooh ooh” like Karen, who seemingly likes to make that O shape with her lips so much that she adopted it as a last name (Ed: Or she realized Orzolek lacked oomph). In the chorus she belts, “Tell me what you saw /And I tell you what to” — but instead of finishing the line she soars up into ooh oohs, four sets of two over crashing cymbals. When this happens a third time, I am not only in love with the song, but with Karen O herself, a trick she pulled on the equally impressive “Maps,” and a trick that may help curb those inevitable armies of hate, already mobilizing for battle. As for me and my ilk: Falling in love again, never wanted to, what am I to do? Wait until March 28, I suppose.
Craig Eley :: 23 February 2006 |
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