The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been more than adept at keeping themselves a fresh commodity since they hit the NYC dance-punk scene in the early part of the millennial decade, their three albums over six years each showed a steady progression and evolution in the trio’s distinctive sound. Following the pattern of true Yeah Yeah Yeahs unique and progressive style, It’s Blitz is like unlike anything the band has done before. The band traded in the raucous guitar assault of their debut and replaced their acoustic sounds of sophomore effort Show Your Bones for an unexpected genre that’s a throwback to 1970s boogie-nights culture…disco.

Well, not quite.

While the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have discovered a newfound appreciation for synthesizers and tasty backbeats on It’s Blitz, the band remains focused on well-crafted melodies, Karen O’s distinctive vocals, and an appreciation for an undeniably organic sound that belies the electronica they put to excellent use here. Opener “Zero” starts off with a buzzing synth line and pulsating keyboards framing Karen O’s effortless exhortations to “put your leather on.” The song’s graceful climax and smorgasbord of perfectly out-of-place blips and glitches perhaps make the song a challenging proposition to long-term fans, but its icy beauty and irresistibly catchy chorus, where Nick Zinner’s guitar blares out in all its distorted glory, bode well for what follows.

And what follows is easily the best opening sequence Yeah Yeah Yeahs have put together. “Heads Will Roll” balances a menacing disco beat and O’s frantic message to “dance ’til you’re dead” with a chorus and stinging hook that drag you in and don’t let go, while “Soft Shock” dials back the energy without letting up on the band’s flowing pop sensibility and O’s uncomplicated vocals. For a singer who has built her reputation on the foundations of riot-grrl imagery and gritty New York punk, Karen O is unusually at ease here, her voice able to sound naturally in command or vulnerable at points without coming off as too affected.

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Such an opening trifecta would be hard for any band to live up to, so it comes as little surprise that It’s Blitz dies down a bit in the middle. “Skeletons” takes the whole electronica shtick to an unnecessary level, washing the song in ambient noise and out-of-place string bits that make a threadbare song a needless slow burner, one that lacks the heart of the epic the band obviously wants it to be. Follow-up “Dull Life” is marginally better, but its up-tempo rhythm and needling guitar sound more out-of-place than anything else on the record, and the song’s unusually strict adherence to standard verse-chorus-verse structure cause it to be fairly unremarkable.

But when you’re nitpicking songs because they seem “too standard” or “out-of-place,” it’s because everything else is so damned good. The spooky synths and funky guitar of “Dragon Queen” impeccably mesh O’s airy, sexy vocals with the tune’s seductive disco strut, and the impressive rock showcase that is “Shame and Fortune” prove that Karen O is hardly the reason for the band’s success – just take a listen to Zinner’s wicked fuzz-guitar riffing in the outro.

And that’s saying nothing about the two gorgeous ballads that close It’s Blitz, “Hysteric” and “Little Shadows.” The former has been declared the best song on the record by numerous critics, and for good reason: it’s dreamy, hazy electro-rock vibe combined with O’s most personal, earnest lyrics of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s career make the song a love letter to match 2003′s “Maps” and possibly overtake it. O’s gentle serenade of the chorus, “flow sweetly, hang heavy / you suddenly complete me, you suddenly complete me” complete the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ transformation from frosty punk rockers to empathetic pop auteurs.

“Little Shadows” is an atmospheric lullaby that closes the record as you’d expect it to be closed, with a placid sigh rather than a bang, a sublime, reflective summation of the album. “Gentle;” “reflective;” “lullaby;” these are hardly words I would have associated with Yeah Yeah Yeahs a few years ago, but given the band’s penchant for change, it’s not as surprising as it might be for some of their class-of-’03 peers like, say, the Strokes.

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“Change or die” has often been a wise maxim to live by, and none have done it as well as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Zinner’s characteristic guitar methods, drummer Brian Chase’s rock-steady beats, and, most of all, Karen O’s simple, relatable lyrics and practiced vocals have given the band repeated leases on life, and with It’s Blitz, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs look poised to enter a new decade as strongly as they roared into this one. We still have eight months to go in 2009, but already this year is shaping up to end the decade in brilliant musical style.

Interscope 2009
Rating: 9/10