Yeah Yeah Yeahs

It’s not exactly news that Show Your Bones didn’t live up to the promise of their debut, Fever to Tell, but since when does the come down ever top the high? In the chronology of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Is Is actually fits in between their two albums and it sure sounds like it. Recorded during that turbulent period where singer Karen O and guitarist Nick Zinner were on the outs, this five-song EP proves this band thrive when they’re miserable. Hiring Nick Launay (PiL’s Flowers of Romance) to co-produce, Is Is captures the ferocious energy this trio had in them back in 2004 when it was recorded. "Rockers To Swallow,” a standout from their concert DVD of the same name, is one of the band’s best songs to date, conjuring the rawness that drove their debut EP. "Down Boy,” which was a bonus track on the UK version of SYB, is a sexy romp that slithers with a nasty bite courtesy of Zinner’s mighty axe. Though it might seem like it, Is Is isn’t just a case of uncovering their brassy side. The title track is a brooding affair carried by high-pitched guitar wailing, and "10x10” is wrapped in noise but beaming with confidence. Only "Kiss Kiss” fails to build on the YYY canon, acting more like a business model for Avril Lavigne to plagiarise.