Perhaps it was inevitable that the raging, youthful, uncontrollable lust of 2003's Fever To Tell would eventually blossom into something more mature, more balanced and more sultrily, sexily romantic. Perhaps Karen O was always destined to transform from loony art-punk frontwoman to rock goddess, and that her bandmates would flank her like the musical power elite cavalry. What's most unprecedented is that both of the above have happened so soon; only two albums in and Yeah Yeah Yeahs have made what could well turn out to be their Magnum Opus. Show Your Bones is less frenzied, more perceptively clever and infinitely more refined than Fever To Tell, yet YYY haven't lost any of the uncouth charm that originally brought them to our attention. Karen's retained her murky falsetto but uses it more wisely here; instead of letting rip at the first available opportunity - occasionally a cause for irritation on Fever - her voice now alludes to something more sensuous; the spiky Siouxise yelp endures, but now in welcome doses. The musicianship is also faultless, Zinner and Chase between them creating a sound that's far removed from Fever To Tell, whether it's the sleazy, honeyed rock 'n' roll riffs of Fancy and Phenomena; sassy nods to 70s pop with a touch of flamenco (the excellent Honeybear, Turn Into); or sparse acoustic works that almost sound like fuzzy demos (Warrior).There's still that element of outsider cool (Dudley) and they can still rock out like muthas (Mysteries) and churn out the instantly catchy single (Gold Lion) - but the trio have made an album that is undeniably enveloping. Listenable? Yeah. Progressive? Yeah. Early contender for album of the year? Most definitely, Yeah.
