Album Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down

Breaking the silence with a cool new sound

After nine years, Yeah Yeah Yeahs have turned the ears of alternative listeners yet again with the ethereal and danceable Cool It Down — and for long-time fans, it’s a welcome and refreshing new chapter for the indie rock trio. Partially responsible for the indie rock boom in early-2000s New York, Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase captured the attention of the alternative rock world with Fever to Tell in 2003, featuring indie staples like “Maps” and “Y Control.” Now, Cool It Down has already tied with Mosquito for the band’s top charting album, currently no. 5 on Billboard’s top album sales. It isn’t hard to see why, either.

Drawing parallels to post-pandemic America, the album is a soundscape of environmental crisis and dystopian society. “Before we got into the studio, it was one of the worst wildfire seasons in L.A. Blade Runner 2049. Red skies. Ash.” singer Karen O, a New Yorker turned Californian, told Vulture. “It was apocalyptic. That really seeps into your psyche, especially after a year of total dystopia of the pandemic.”

This deep-seated theme of apocalypse is channeled from the very beginning of the album with “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” — a chill-inducing, powerful synth-rock anthem with lyrics illuminating the heavy burdens youth inherit from older generations. A simple kick-kick-snare explodes into a wide expanse of verbed-out synths as O’s gentle yet powerful vocals glow like the sun in an ash-filled sky. Extreme dynamics, slowly-developing intros, hard-cut endings and aggressive synths continue after the first song as recurring elements of the album.

One of the most diverse works by the band yet, Cool It Down channels elements of many genres, including post-rock, ambient rock, psychedelic rock, glam pop and nu-gaze; records by MuteMath, Phantogram, Thievery Corporation and Working For A Nuclear Free City come to mind. The album maintains a relatively mid-to-high pace, opting for dynamic variety over drastic tempo changes. Upbeat, powerhouse tracks are distributed near the beginning and middle with a few softer, slower tracks at the end. Drums and sequencers hold down the groove, with epic drum breaks in “Fleez” and “Burning”. Bass steals the spotlight at a few key moments, like the verse and chorus of “Fleez”.

While he admits that the guitar takes on a more supportive role, Zinner contributes everything from beautiful, shimmering E-bow harmonies (“Spitting Off the Edge of the World” and “Blacktop”) to washed-out pads (“Lovebomb”) and killer fuzz lines (“Burning”). O’s vocals cover a lot of ground, from her signature punk-esque shout-singing to true spoken word (“Blacktop” and “Mars”). Her vocal is as snarky as ever in “Fleez,” with soft falsetto passages almost comically juxtaposing a relentlessly edgy instrumental hook. Piano and string arrangements create beautiful, cinematic moments in tracks like “Wolf” and “Different Today.”

The production of Dave Sitek, Justin Raisen and Andrew Wyatt is stunning, blending the best parts of the band’s organic rock sound with something completely different. Every song is distinct enough to stand on its own. Jaw-dropping moments for lovers of bass and drums, oscillating delays, orchestral arrangements and plenty of ear candy help usher in a forward-thinking and relevant sound that takes the band in a new, fitting direction. The mixes are dark and present, making amazing use of the stereo field and using reverb, delay, and panning in surprising and memorable ways.

Although new territory for the band, the synth-heavy Cool It Down is a very believable and natural progression in the band’s sound over the years. It wouldn’t be a far stretch of the imagination to picture tracks like “Zero” or “Y Control” fitting into the new record if they had been released today — no doubt a testament to the band’s decade-transcending sound and the producers’ ability to preserve the past while connecting to a new generation of listeners.

At the end of it all, though, perhaps the heart of Cool It Down is hope — for love, a brighter future, and humanity in the midst of darkness. No doubt, listeners are receiving the message and are excited for this new chapter in the band’s story.