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Is Is may not be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' most immediately accessible music, but it is some of their most compelling work in some time
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Is Is may be their most instantly accessible release, which is not a critical dig but just a way of saying it finds a good balance between alienating and inviting, between song and performance.
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This EP titillates before leaving you wanting more; just how it should be.
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It is the band’s frontwoman whose personality is carried in the weight of this release--delicately cryptic lyrics screamed with a force that betrays the fact they're either complete trash or wilfully personal.
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Crammed with 18 efficient minutes of material generated in the liminal period after 03's "Fever To Tell," Is Is comes closer to the lusty nails-scratching-down-a-lover's back energy of 'Date With The Night' or early Yeah Yeah Yeahs tracks like 'Art Star' than anything on 06's "Show Your Bones. "
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These songs are so direct that they lack the depth and texture that more sonic detail would deliver.
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Karen O seizes every chorus with her best feral yowl, while her partners, the guitarist Nick Zinner and the drummer Brian Chase, sound as tautly focused as ever.
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As a stand alone work this is one of the most convincing collections that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have produced thus far.
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Is Is is over in eighteen minutes, not one is wasted.
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The tunes on this EP are raw, sharp, and catchy, and always push with some kind of propulsive rhythm--a dynamic strut of drums, guitar, and vocals, even on the calmer verse sections.
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Is Is will especially appeal to fans who found "Show Your Bones" a little soft. On the other hand, this release should appeal to any and all Yeah Yeah Yeahs aficionados.
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The first new material from New York’s finest avant garde trio since last year’s superb Show Your Bones album, Is Is isn’t a new album, unfortunately.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 30 out of 35
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Mixed: 2 out of 35
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Negative: 3 out of 35
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Jul 5, 2012
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Aug 15, 2011
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MikeMSep 20, 2007