Description
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down – Yellow Vinyl Record
Cool It Down is the fifth studio album by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released on September 30, 2022, via Secretly Canadian. Arriving nearly a decade after their previous album, Mosquito (2013), Cool It Down marks a striking return for the New York art-punk trio—Karen O (vocals), Nick Zinner (guitars, keyboards), and Brian Chase (drums)—delivering a record that is both mature and forward-thinking, without losing the emotional punch and creative edge that made them one of the most essential bands of the 2000s indie rock boom.
At only eight tracks, Cool It Down is a concise, focused album, but it brims with sonic ambition and lyrical urgency. The band trades much of their early garage-rock ferocity for moodier, more expansive soundscapes, leaning into synth-driven textures, post-punk atmospheres, and electronic elements. Produced with longtime collaborator Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio), the album feels sonically rich and deeply layered, with emotional undercurrents that reflect the turbulence of the era in which it was made—grappling with themes of climate change, disconnection, transformation, and hope in the face of collapse.
The opening track and lead single, “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”, featuring Perfume Genius, sets the tone with its slow-build grandeur and cinematic sweep. Karen O’s vocals are haunting and impassioned, capturing a sense of defiance and sorrow. The song is emblematic of the album’s broader emotional palette—more restrained but no less intense than the band’s earlier work. Another standout, “Burning”, channels a soulful urgency, built on a sample of The Four Seasons’ “Beggin’,” layered with dramatic piano and vocal flourishes. It evokes a kind of apocalyptic dance anthem, both heavy and cathartic.
Tracks like “Fleez” and “Wolf” strike a balance between the band’s raw energy and their evolving sonic identity. “Fleez” is playful and twitchy, nodding to ESG and post-punk funk, while “Wolf” is more sensual and brooding, driven by hypnotic bass and shimmering synths. The closing track, “Mars”, is perhaps the most experimental—spoken-word, sparse, and eerie—offering a cryptic and intimate end to the album that suggests both isolation and transcendence.
Cool It Down reflects a band that has grown older, more reflective, and more politically aware. The album’s title itself comes from a Velvet Underground song, signaling the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ deep-rooted ties to New York’s musical lineage while also emphasizing their desire to temper chaos with clarity. Karen O, now a mother, infuses her lyrics with a mix of personal vulnerability and global concern, grappling with the emotional toll of a planet in crisis and the challenge of finding joy and connection amid uncertainty.
Critics received the album warmly, praising its emotional maturity, sonic sophistication, and relevance. It was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2023 Grammy Awards and reaffirmed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ status as a band still capable of evolving meaningfully while retaining their distinct artistic identity.
In many ways, Cool It Down is a reinvention—one that doesn’t attempt to relive the adrenaline highs of Fever to Tell or the glittery anthems of It’s Blitz!, but instead carves out new emotional and sonic territory. It’s the sound of a band not chasing trends or nostalgia, but engaging with the present moment—thoughtfully, artfully, and with their own unmistakable voice.
Brand new, never played and still in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Spitting Off The Edge Of The World
Lovebomb
Wolf
Fleez
Burning
Blacktop
Different Today
Mars
