ith all the noise being made about a garage rock revival, it’s interesting to note how sterile most of the bands being touted are. The Hives are so slickly polished that you can see your reflection in them, the only thing that the BRMC are in danger of are the Reid Bros.’ lawyers, and the Strokes will never be threatening, no matter how many times they kiss each other in public. It was a welcome surprise, then, to listen to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and find a decidedly raw group of songs on their debut EP. They take their primary inspiration from the guitar skronk of Pussy Galore and Royal Trux, adding just enough melody to avoid being flagrant copyists.


“Bang” is probably the best put-down of an incompetent lover since Elastica’s “Stutter”: Karen O moans and mocks her way around a raunchy bump’n’grind motif, establishing her position as the charismatic face of the band. Slipping between a husky purr and a yelping scream, she struts through the song with a sexy, bitchy attitude copped straight from Exile on Main Street. It’s a great entrance, and a perfect way to start off. Unfortunately, it’s also the best thing to be found here.


The middle of the EP gets bogged down with a group of unremarkable songs. “Mystery Girl” and “Miles Away” do little to distinguish themselves from the crowd of distorted indie songs; they’re competent, but nothing spectacular. “Art Star” fares slightly better, benefiting from witty lyrics and the juxtaposition of singsong ‘doo-doo-doos’ with throat-tearing screams, but hardly becoming a classic. The EP closes with “Our Time”, an anti-anthem for the jaded. It’s a return to the promise shown in “Bang”, reshaped into a slow-building affirmation that this is “our time to be hated.” It’s a lighter-waving ballad for the hipster set, simultaneously bored and enthralled by itself.


The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a lot going for them: a sleazy, noisy guitar-drums groove, a frontwoman to die for, and attitude to spare. Their primary weakness lies in the songwriting department, which will need to improve if they’re to become more than the latest in a series of over-hyped bands to fizzle. They’ve shown a few flashes of brilliance, but there’s plenty of work to be done before they are ready for the big time.