The Littlest Winslow

Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ new album Mosquito hits stores (and Spotify) next week, but you can stream it today for free! The band’s fourth full-length is mellower than expected, but it’s still kooky as hell. It’s got a gospel choir on the lead single “Sacrilege,” sounds of a subway car thundering down a track on “Subway”, and a song produced by Mr. LCD Soundsystem himself, James Murphy, that also features Dr. Octagon.

In this video, Karen O, Brian Chase and Nick Zinner provide commentary for each song off the new record. Here are the time stamps for each track so you can skip ahead to your faves (which will clearly be “Mosquito,” “Area 52″ and “Buried Alive”):

1. Sacrilege (2:06)
2. Subway (6:44)
3. Mosquito (12:44)
4. Under the Earth (16:24)
5. Slave (21:34)
6. These Paths (26:43)
7. Area 52 (32:37)
8. Buried Alive (36:20)
9. Always (42:17)
10. Despair (47:04)
11. Wedding Song (52:33)

A new YYY album. Life is good.

The band played Webster Hall in NYC last night. Here’s the setlist. You can check out photos over at Brooklyn Vegan.

This week’s Music Monday is from a band whose upcoming album is one of my most anticipated releases of the year: Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Info about the band’s fourth full-length Mosquito has been trickling in since the beginning of the year (you can read more here), and this single was released a few weeks back, but I can’t get the track out of my head. I wasn’t too impressed upon the first few spins, but it’s sticking with me – buzzing around my head and cementing itself in my brain with its sexy, subtle chorus-driven guitar riff and booming chorus explosion toward the end. This is a band that goes for broke every single time and is never scared of adapting and changing from album to album. Respect, YYY.

Mosquito comes out April 16, but lets abuse the shit out of “Sacrilege” now.

The Firefly Music Festival has released its 2013 lineup for the upcoming second fest taking place June 21-23 at The Woodlands of Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Here’s a screenshot of the full lineup as announced this morning:

*Update* Clearer shot of the lineup, released by Firefly.

  
And here’s the accompanying video:

More than likely, they’re keeping a headliner under their belts for some unknown reason (to be released on Thursday, when tix are on sale?). Tom Petty and the Chili Peppers seem to be older favorites. Perhaps a more modern/relevant headliner will be announced shortly?

Check out TLW’s post from last year’s Firefly shenanigans, and stay tuned for more Firefly news and discussion soon!

Talk about a cover, man.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs fourth album, entitled Mosquito, is finito and set for release on April 16th through Interscope. The album was produced by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio and Nick Launay, and also features a song produced by James Murphy. Hell to the YES.

“The album is extremely lo-fi. We had a shitty drum machine, a shitty sampled keyboard, tons of delay on the vocals. There’s a real tone, character, and style to it,” Karen O tells SPIN. (Check out the rest of their interview here)

The band has already started previewing some of the new tracks live and more tour dates are forthcoming:

The new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album “It’s Blitz” has been released, and The Littlest Winslow gives it two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

If you’re not into YYY by now, I’m not sure if you ever will be. Karen O’s screeching, in your face approach, backed with Nick Zinner’s sometimes grungey/sometimes industrial guitar playing makes for quirky and acquired listening. If you get it, you get it. If not, these are a few reasons that might stop listeners at the door. But I assure you – “It’s Blitz!” is golden.

Three albums deep by now, the YYY definitely change their colors with each release. “Fever To Tell” was very upbeat and A.D.D., while “Show Your Bones” slowed the music down a bit, but kept the YYY edge. With “It’s Blitz!” the band touches upon many 80′s sounds and New Wave, and adds in piano, a cello, and a sax to round out the tunes. Definitely different territory for the band. (Note: Greg Kurstin of Geggy Tah and The Bird and the Bee appears on “Runaway” playing the piano!)

I admit – I don’t understand everything that this band does (“Dragon Queen” has me thrown) but everything they do is so interesting and so intriguing.

Check out my faves. Hear for yourself.

“Zero“

“Heads Will Roll“

“Dull Life“

Paste has the hook up right here. It’s called “Zero” and has a very 80′s/New Wave feel to it.

The new album, “It’s Blitz!” is out April 14th.

Tracklist:

1. Zero
2. Heads Will Roll
3. Soft Shock
4. Skeletons
5. Dull Life
6. Shame and Fortune
7. Runaway
8. Dragon Queen
9. Hysteric
10. Little Shadow