Cool It Down: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are Back Together for the Kids

The Yeahs Yeah Yeahs were one of the biggest acts to come out of the NYC alt rock scene of the early 2000s - a period dominated by bands like The Strokes, The White Stripes, and LCD Soundsystem who sought garage-y aesthetics with enough pop sensibilities to hit the big time. But while the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' biggest hit, "Maps," remains a karaoke essential, they encased it within arguably the punkest debut of their contemporaries.

Karen shrieked half her way through Fever to Tell in 2003. The art direction was chaotic and doused in graffiti. The music was fast and aggressive. In following projects, the band embraced more somber musical styles, incorporating elements of folk and an increasing amount of electronics. This ever-evolving sound produced four very distinct albums before the band would go on to prioritize solo careers and side projects. Now, they've returned with their first album in nine years: Cool It Down.

Cool It Down isn't a rekindling of the fire that raged in the band's youth. The album isn’t exactly unpredictable, especially with consideration to Karen O's funk inflected 2019 collaboration with Danger Mouse, Lux Prima and her work on film scores. The music is toned down, with soft percussion, rich production, and enveloping electronics. O showcases her singing abilities in a more conventional manner as she glides through falsettos and catchy refrains. And wouldn't you know it, a lot of songs sound like they would snap right into the Avid file for an indie drama.

The lead single, “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” (feat. Perfume Genius) bursts through with a steadily rising lamentation on climate change and an indictment of the previous generation for their role. The song raises an interrogation of generational divides that continues throughout the album. But rather than taking a didactic approach, the perspective becomes celebratory.

The song "Fleez," for instance, samples and pays homage to "Moody" by funk rock band ESG, a group fronted by women decades before the Yeah Yeah Yeahs – all while O expresses joy for her own return to the YYYs. On "Different Today", O puts forth a sense of determination to live truthfully in the face of a chaotic world. And on the closing track "Mars" she delivers a spoken-word verse bemusing the simple beauty of the world as well as its bounty of wonders through the eyes of a child. After poetic observations of a sunset, she turns the question to her son:

I asked my son what it looked like to him/

'Mars,' he said/

With a glint in his eye/

Cool It Down is fixated on those who came before, who the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are now, and who will succeed them. This reunion comes after a nearly decade-long break and  past gripes. In that time, each member has pursued multiple other projects, two had children, and (say the line Bart!) the pandemic began. Distant plans can be wiped out by external forces. Life can be a whirlwind. Shit happens. It makes sense that the band would be concerned with their place in a grander narrative.

O has been vocal about her glee seeing more Asian American women receive their indie rock laurels. Both Interview Magazine and Rolling Stone published conversations between her and Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast where they compared their journeys as critically acclaimed hapas:

"It’s hard for me to relate to being able to have other women in what you’re doing… But it fills me with joy that you have that now, and that bands like Linda Lindas are coming up and making such a splash, too." (Karen O, Rolling Stone Magazine)

O, who just toured with Japanese Breakfast and the Linda Lindas, was one of the many readers who related to Zauner's memoir Crying in H Mart. And in the book, Zauner mentions the Yeah Yeah Yeahs being an inspiration for her career. Both the influx of American artists who lean into their Asian heritage and the knowledge that Karen O has become something of an icon seem to be at the forefront of the band's return. They even concluded their October 6th LA concert by inviting their openers onstage for a cover of Kim Wilde’s ”Kids in America” performed by three generations of Asian American artists. 

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have spent the last twenty years exploring their range. Now we get to see them exercise ownership of their image. These once trailblazing indie rockers got back together and dove straight into the curious stage of legacy they sit in. What they came back with was not cynicism, nor nostalgia, but an earnest step forward.

[Erick Zepeda is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. More of their work can be found at https://erickalexanderzepeda.wordpress.com/]