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SCMP Reporter

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Fever To Tell

(Universal)

It has taken the Yeah Yeah Yeahs an inordinately long time to release their debut album. The New York trio have been on the scene as long as The Strokes, but while the latter are struggling to complete their 'difficult' second album, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have only just cut their first.

Their catalogue to date lists an EP and CD single, enough for the enigmatic Karen O and her band to be hailed the next big thing in the noughties' punk and garage rock revival.

Thankfully, Fever To Tell lives up to the hype. For most of the 37-minute journey it's predictable stuff, a raucous ride packed with punchy guitars, raw energy and twisted melodies, but then it serves up a twist to rival The Sixth Sense.

Karen O's voice is dominant from the opener Rich. On Tick it's veering out of control as she screeches like a pre-pubescent Lene Lovich. And when she runs out of words - as on Black Tongue - she throws out a bigger range of ecstatic yelps than your average skin flick. On Pin she delivers a perfect two-minute pop-punk statement, replete with catchy chorus.

Yet just when it starts to grate and the band appear short of ideas, the album violently segues in to a more mature, disciplined sound. Three minutes in to the stomping No No No, it shifts to a resonant reggae beat.

Then O astonishes by delivering a sublime love song, Maps, on which she meekly growls 'they don't love like I love you'. The closing tracks Y Control and Modern Romance - so laid-back it's horizontal - have similar depth. It's a brilliant trick that suggests the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be more than one-album wonders.



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