If you have heard the energetic, infectious music that earned New York City-based alternative rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs (YYYs) a wide fan base, you'll think they're either brave or crazy to trade their signature filthy garage rock sound for something completely new.
In the band's third studio album It's Blitz, we don't hear much of vocalist Karen O's explosive howls and snarls; we only occasionally hear the vigorous drum beats of Brian Chase; and even the vibrant, blaring guitar riffs from Nick Zinner, that were so stunningly well-received and almost define the band, are in short supply.
Instead, the trio delivers a sonic extravanganza of various genres and squeezes it into 42 short minutes. The result is 10 beautifully crafted songs, each of which is intense and richly layered.
Some of the tracks resemble 80s jams, while most of them are glittering, disco-friendly electric tunes that wouldn't look out of place on a Moby or Kylie Minogue album.
Fans of the group's earlier brilliant, edgy and ultra-cool punk-rock may wonder if the YYYs have lost their touch - or their minds.
It would be natural to worry that the band, who played such an important role in rejuvenating the rock scene in the new millennium, alongside the likes of The Strokes and The White Stripes and opened the door for emerging acts like MGMT and Vampire Weekends, has fallen into the grasp of the evil money-making pop-dance music industry.
Far from denying that this is the case, vocalist O admits she doesn't always know what direction the band is taking.