Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 39
  2. Negative: 1 out of 39
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  1. Apr 15, 2013
    70
    It might not be as cohesive as their best albums, but the standout songs rival their finest moments.
  2. Uncut
    Apr 4, 2013
    80
    They don't sound so zeitgeisty anymore, but [single] "Mosquito" caterwauls mightily, and the closing "Wedding Song" is a feat of lip-quivering sensitivity up there with "Maps." [May 2013, p.79]
  3. Q Magazine
    Apr 9, 2013
    80
    As much as it recaptures some of their buccaneering early spirit, it also shows off some explosive new tricks too. [May 2013, p.108]
  4. 70
    A confusing, intriguing record, then. Not their strongest, but there's a transition underway.
  5. Apr 16, 2013
    70
    Not everything works: "Buried Alive" is basically a goth-y version of R.E.M.'s "Radio Song." But the tragic magic blazes on "Despair," a funereal procession that recalls Joy Division's "Atmosphere" but offers communion beyond the existential wail.
  6. Apr 23, 2013
    75
    For all their consistency, it's good to know Yeah Yeah Yeahs remain capable of pulling off the unexpected.
  7. Apr 15, 2013
    90
    It combines such a variety of disparate styles that it really should not work, but Yeah Yeah Yeahs manage to tie everything together seamlessly into what is possibly their most assured and unique record to date.
  8. Apr 11, 2013
    80
    Throughout it Yeah Yeah Yeahs sound like a band with a future, who may have their most interesting albums ahead of them.
  9. Apr 15, 2013
    80
    The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back, better than ever and ready to "suck your blood."
  10. Apr 15, 2013
    80
    It is a blazingly enjoyable record, the most purely fun album the band has made since Fever to Tell.
  11. Apr 16, 2013
    83
    There’s so much pep and vinegar surging through Mosquito’s veins, such a comedown is not entirely unwelcome, and it contributes to the snarled, loopy texture that makes the album easy to get caught up in.
  12. Apr 16, 2013
    80
    They've stepped up their ballad game, and the grooves, smartly percussive and Kanye-slick, are deeper than ever.
  13. Apr 16, 2013
    81
    Mosquito is where this band finally grooves, after long threatening.
  14. Apr 15, 2013
    80
    Mosquito is a much-needed return to the days of ‘Fever To Tell’ and ‘Machine’--it embraces the band’s early, reverb-heavy sound but also tips its hat to the dance feel they’ve been honing in recent years.
  15. 67
    It's a messy, rock-out-in-the-garage record, and there's energy to spare on the gospel-disco rave-up ''Sacrilege.'' But there are too many half-formed ideas and failed experiments here.
  16. Apr 15, 2013
    80
    What ultimately matters is how vital they’ve managed to sound coming off of a break while pushing the experimental envelope in ways that go beyond a guest appearance by Kool Keith as Dr. Octagon.
  17. Apr 15, 2013
    90
    Sounds layered upon sounds; the intricacies here may hint towards Mosquito being more of a grower than its older siblings, but it proves that Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a band to cherish.
  18. Apr 18, 2013
    80
    After the band’s polished, dance-friendly 2009 effort, It’s Blitz!, Zinner’s hard-charging riffs on Area 52 are a welcome return to the urgent, sometimes messy art punk of their early days.
  19. Apr 16, 2013
    80
    It’s the group’s most far-flung album, supporting Karen O’s recent claim that Mosquito offers something for everyone.
  20. Jun 4, 2013
    80
    Ultimately, Mosquito sees the band reenergised, trying new things and, generally, succeeding.
  21. 70
    Those looking for a cool album to throw on as invigorating background music will be delighted. Those who want a little more substance with the style should cherry-pick a few chosen tracks which spotlight why Yeah Yeah Yeahs still impress a decade down the road.
  22. Apr 19, 2013
    82
    This fourth album, the devastatingly visceral Mosquito, does indeed find them trawling the more lugubrious recesses of their psyches and sonic proclivities.
  23. Apr 17, 2013
    71
    They’re still capable of brilliance (particularly on the opening and closing tracks), but too much of Mosquito is bogged down by tongue-in-cheek frivolity.
  24. Apr 19, 2013
    75
    The album's sonic sophistication never impedes the primal charge the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have always delivered.
  25. Apr 12, 2013
    80
    It’s infested with the collective naughtiness and layered irony of a B-movie all-nighter.
  26. Apr 10, 2013
    84
    In the rural wasteland of southwestern Texas, producers Dave Sitek (of TV On The Radio fame) and Nick Launay brought life to an album that's challenging and conceptual, yet also playful and raunchy.
  27. 91
    They have crafted a sound that is new for them and unique in its context, but that falls neatly into what we have come to expect from a trio whose power and creativity runs consistently unchecked.
  28. Apr 15, 2013
    80
    For all its ambitious digressions, conceptual gambles and silly experiments, it’s that spirit of adventure that makes the album so visceral.
  29. Apr 15, 2013
    88
    The payoff is the trio of reveries that closes the album: “Always,” “Despair” and “Wedding Song” build on the disarming vulnerability of “Maps,” and deepen it.
User Score
6.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 66 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 66
  2. Negative: 5 out of 66
  1. Sep 18, 2013
    10
    This is a gem that's criminally underrated.This is a gem that's criminally underrated.
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    Full Review »
  2. Apr 18, 2013
    6
    Yeah Yeah Yeahs really tried to get everyone excited for this new album. I was very excited. After seeing that strange and somewhat disturbingYeah Yeah Yeahs really tried to get everyone excited for this new album. I was very excited. After seeing that strange and somewhat disturbing album cover, I knew the album would be quite interesting. It wasn't quite what I had expected. It was much more boring than I thought. Even with the collaborations in production with James Murphy and the guy from TV on the Radio, the album falls short for me. Not to say that the album sucks, but I just wanted a little bit more. The highlights are: "Sacrilege". Full Review »
  3. Sep 1, 2013
    8
    OK here's the thing you hear there is a new YYY's album coming out. You flip out. You hear they worked with Dave Sitek & James Murphy. YouOK here's the thing you hear there is a new YYY's album coming out. You flip out. You hear they worked with Dave Sitek & James Murphy. You cannot stand the suspense. You hear 'Sacrilege' & at first you are thrown off by the gospel choir, but pretty soon it's playing on repeat in your head. THEN you get round to finally hearing 'Mosquito' in all of it's sythny, subteranean soundscape glory and your first reaction is WTF is this?? Because it doesn't resemble anything the band has done before. When they went "pop" on Blitz, people complained. And now they've gone weird, electro dub?!
    BUT IT IS BRILLIANT. Unquestionably. Give it a few listens. If it's hard, listen to 'Mosquito', 'Slave' and 'Despair' because those tracks will ease you into the new sound by retaining some of their original sound. 'Despair' completely won me over and it is now one of my favorite YYY tracks. This is an unusually brilliant record. Listen to it more than thrice.
    Full Review »