Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Formation and Fever to Tell (2000–2003)

In 2000, singer/songwriter Karen Orzolek—henceforth known as Karen O—and guitarist Nick Zinner founded the acoustic duo Unitard. Later that year, they changed their name to Yeah Yeah Yeahs and shifted to a "trashy, punky, [and] grimy" sound inspired by their observations of the contemporary Ohio music scene.^[1][2] In September 2000, the band was invited to open for the White Stripes at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan.^[3] As Karen O did not want to use a drum machine live, she enlisted drummer Brian Chase a day before the show.^[4]

"Bang"

A sample from "Bang", the opening track of the band's debut EP

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In late 2001, Yeah Yeah Yeahs collaborated with Boss Hog's Jerry Teel to record and self-release their debut EP, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.^[5] The record gained a cult following when it was reissued in 2002 by Touch and Go Records in the United States and Wichita Recordings in the United Kingdom.^[5][6] It topped the UK Indie Chart and, according to Nielsen SoundScan, has sold over 71,000 copies.^[7][8] Reviews of Yeah Yeah Yeahs were generally favorable, and NME ranked it the second best single of 2002.^[9]

By the end of 2002, Yeah Yeah Yeahs's first record and live shows garnered them international recognition.^[10][11] The band received offers from major record labels to finance and produce their debut album, Fever to Tell, but rejected them, as they felt it would compromise their creative control.^[12] They funded the album themselves and hired the then-unknown Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio) as a co-producer, his first of several collaborations with the band.^[13] They recorded the album at the local Headgear Studio in early 2002 and compiled unused material into Machine, their second EP, for promotion.^[14][8] Yeah Yeah Yeahs subsequently signed to Interscope Records at the insistence of Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, which allowed them to maintain creative control.^[15] They promoted both records with six shows in October 2002 and international performances from February to May 2003.^[16][17]

Fever to Tell was released in May 2003 and sold more than one million copies worldwide by 2009.^[18][19] The album propelled the band to international stardom,^[20] being hailed as the best release of 2003 by writers of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and by publications like The New York Times.^[21][22] It reached number 55 on the US Billboard 200 and number thirteen on the UK Albums Chart,^[23][24] and it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album and the Shortlist Music Prize.^[25][26] Considered an essential work of the 2000s garage rock and post-punk revivals, NME rated it the fifth-best album of the decade, writing: "When they first arrived in Britain a year ago, it seemed likely they'd make a debut album fixated on the simple art of fucking. Instead, 'Fever to Tell' is more complicated: seeking to explain love, sex and the remarkable, brittle, sometimes disturbing connections between the two."^[27] Four singles were released from the album: "Date with the Night", "Pin", "Maps", and "Y Control"; the first three reached the top 30 of the UK singles chart.^[23] "Maps" is considered the band's signature song and was unanimously acclaimed, peaking at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and tripling the sales of Fever to Tell.^[14][24] The song's music video was played extensively on MTV, and it got nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards.^[28][29]

Show Your Bones (2004–2006)

In October 2004, Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their first DVD, Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow,^[30] which includes a concert filmed at the Fillmore in San Francisco, all of the band's music videos to date, and various interviews.^[31] Heather Phares from AllMusic called the release "impressive enough in its own right" and "remarkably complete", despite the band's small catalog to that point.^[32]

In early 2005, Yeah Yeah Yeahs began work on their second album, Show Your Bones, with the goal of reinventing their sound and not creating "Fever to Tell part 2".^[33] Sitek returned to co-produce the album with the band and Sam Spiegel, better known as Squeak E. Clean.^[34] The band faced various problems during production, including once scrapping and restarting the project,^[33] and tensions rising amongst the members due to the pressure.^[35] Karen O explained, "We just scared the shit out of each other, it was a dark and scary realm that we were going into – not that the music was dark and scary it was just totally different. It was a difficult act to pull off but we did, we got through it and we're feeling pretty good about it now."^[36]

Show Your Bones was officially announced in January 2006 and described as "what happens when you put your finger in a light socket".^[37] Yeah Yeah Yeahs promoted it with a short world tour in early 2006.^[38][39] It was released worldwide in March^[40] and became their highest entry in the United Kingdom, at number seven.^[23] In the United States, the album quadrupled the first-week sales of Fever to Tell and has sold 269,000 copies to date.^[41][42] It received positive reviews, with publications like Alternative Press and The Village Voice stating the band had successfully avoided a sophomore slump;^[43][44] some believed the band's tension showed in the music.^[45] NME ranked it as the second-best album of 2006 and the 32nd best of the decade.^[27][46] It also earned the band their second nomination for the Best Alternative Music Album Grammy.^[47] The record spawned three singles: "Gold Lion", "Turn Into", and "Cheated Hearts". The first peaked at number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[24] and the last placed second on Time magazine's "Top 10 Everything" list in 2006.^[45]

Yeah Yeah Yeahs joined All Tomorrow's Parties in 2006, a now-defunct organization from the United Kingdom that promoted independent music through their festivals.^[48] During their tenure with the organization, they worked with other acts to curate festival lineups for the UK.^[49] After years of financial difficulties, which founder Barry Hogan attributed to their mission of self-funding,^[50] All Tomorrow's Parties announced its closure in 2016.^[51] As major contributors to All Tomorrow's Parties, Yeah Yeah Yeahs were included in the 2009 documentary of the same name.^[52] Also in 2006, they released a live EP exclusive to iTunes.^[53] That same year, they joined BeatBullying's "Take a Stand" campaign to advocate against bullying^[54] and contributed a remix of "Cheated Hearts" to the charity album Give. Listen. Help. Volume 3, which aimed to raise awareness of breast cancer.^[55]

It's Blitz! (2007–2009)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs announced their fourth EP, Is Is, in June 2007. It is composed of songs written between the production of Fever to Tell and Show Your Bones and was produced by Nick Launay.^[56] In a statement on their website, the band wrote: "Summer nights are made for this shit. This shit IS IS made for summer nights."^[56] It was released in July 2007 to positive reviews and chart success, entering the US Billboard 200 at no. 72.^[24] The EP was highly praised by writers at NME and Pitchfork, both of whom stated that it was the band's most accessible work.^[57][58] One single was released from the EP, "Down Boy", which was ranked by Rolling Stone as the 61st best song of the year.^[59] Also in 2007, the band wrote and recorded "Sealings" for the soundtrack of the superhero film Spider-Man 3.^[60]

In 2008, Yeah Yeah Yeahs began working on their third album, It's Blitz!.^[61] They wrote all the material during production, in contrast with the sessions for their first two albums. Launay, who returned as a co-producer with Sitek, remarked that he had not seen a band do so since 1979.^[61] The band reinvented themselves once more by shifting to dance-punk and pop rock, using pre-recorded samples of Chase's drums and making heavy use of an ARP synthesizer Zinner brought on a whim to one of five studios It's Blitz was recorded at.^[62] Several breaks were taken during production, to "get inspired".^[61] The album was slated for release in April 2009, but an internet leak of the material occurred in February, much to the band's dismay.^[63] The band embarked on an international tour to support the album from May to December 2009.^[64][65]

It's Blitz was ultimately released in March 2009^[66] and greatly outsold Show Your Bones, with shipped units of 500,000 in the United States alone.^[67] It received gold certifications in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom—their most highly certified album to date.^[67][68][69] It was acclaimed by critics, with publications like AllMusic, Blender, and The New York Times lauding the band's new musical direction.^[70][71][72] In addition to the band receiving their third nomination for the Best Alternative Music Album Grammy,^[73] It's Blitz! was named the second-best album of 2009 by Spin and third-best by NME.^[74][75] The record spawned three singles: "Zero", "Heads Will Roll", and "Skeletons", which garnered strong reviews and sales. "Zero" was ranked as the best song of the year by the aforementioned publications,^[76][77] while "Heads Will Roll" became the band's best-selling single to date, going double platinum in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.^[23][78] The song's music video was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video.^[79] A remix by Canadian artist A-Trak, which further heightened the song's popularity, was placed on Rolling Stone's list of "The 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".^[80] The band also covered Ramones's "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" for War Child Presents Heroes (2009), a charity album whose funds provided aid to children in war-afflicted countries.^[81]

Mosquito (2010–2013)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs headlined a fundraiser performance at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2010, which honored several philanthropists and raised funds for the museum.^[82] Following the It's Blitz! shows, Karen O announced in December 2011 that they were working on new material.^[83] However, the band's activity would decrease in the next two years as the members continued working on personal projects. Their next album, Mosquito, was produced during turbulent times for the band, who wrote and recorded its songs only when they felt inspired.^[84] Marking a return to their early sound with a "playful, lo-fi approach", Sitek and Launay returned to produce the album and were joined by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, who the band were previously interested in collaborating with.^[84] Karen O said Mosquito "was the rope ladder thrown down into the ditch for us to climb up and dust ourselves off".^[85] They toured worldwide from April to July 2013 to promote the album.^[86]

In January 2013, Yeah Yeah Yeahs announced Mosquito^[87] and teased its artwork, designed by Beomsik Shimbe Shim, which was derided by critics and fans.^[88][89] After a series of promotional performances,^[87] the album was released in April 2013 and became their highest-charting effort in the United States to date, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200.^[24] In spite of chart success, the album was not acclaimed like the band's previous work. Writers at The Michigan Daily, Pitchfork, and Slant praised the band's efforts but suggested that they had taken a step backward.^[90][91][92] Mosquito was placed at number 30 on NME's list of the best albums of the year, contrasting the band's previous efforts, which each made the top three.^[93] Only two singles were issued: "Sacrilege" and "Despair", both of which were accompanied by music videos.^[94][95] The first won two UK Music Video Awards and nominations for two MTV Video Music Awards.^[96][97] "Despair" was shot atop the Empire State Building, making Yeah Yeah Yeahs the first band to ever film there.^[98]

Hiatus and concert focus (2014–2021)

In December 2014, Karen O told NME that the band had been "on a bit of a hiatus", citing a lack of inspiration and motivation.^[99] The members then focused on their solo careers. Chase continued his experimentation in music, working on the album series Drums and Drones from 2013 to 2018;^[100] Karen O became a mother and released her debut solo album, Crush Songs, in 2014;^[101] and Zinner opened a photography exhibit, "601 Photographs", in 2015;^[102] They briefly reunited for a one-off performance in 2016 for a Mick Rock documentary, playing with Money Mark and Jaleel Bunton of TV on the Radio.^[103] Also in 2016, they released a remix of "Under the Earth" from Mosquito to promote the water sanitation charity Drop in the Bucket.^[104] They announced their return by headlining Sound on Sound Fest with Iggy Pop and Grizzly Bear, their first concert in four years;^[105] the festival was ultimately cancelled.^[106]

In September 2017, Yeah Yeah Yeahs announced a reissue of Fever to Tell for its fifteenth anniversary, featuring previously unreleased demos and material from the era.^[107] It was published the following month alongside a short film, There Is No Modern Romance, which features both concert and offstage footage from their 2003 Fever to Tell tour.^[108] The releases were well received by critics, leading to retrospective analyses of the album from The Line of Best Fit and Uncut, who reaffirmed it as the band's defining work.^[109][110] To celebrate the reissue, the band performed a small series of shows in three cities that same month.^[111] In February 2018, the band recorded a Spotify-exclusive cover of Big Star's "Thirteen", their newest release in five years.^[112] They focused on live performances in the years afterwards.^[113] They aspired to create new music as early as 2020 but were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic,^[114] though they released a home recording of "Phenomena", a song from Show Your Bones.^[115] The band appeared on the charity album Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volume 2 (2020), which advocated for suffrage.^[116]

Cool It Down (2022–present)

After a period of sporadic activity, Yeah Yeah Yeahs signed with the independent record label Secretly Canadian in May 2022, announcing new music and performances through their social media.^[117] They then began work on their fifth album, Cool It Down, which was recorded at three different studios: Sonic Ranch in Texas, Federal Prism in California, and Zinner's basement. Sitek returned as a producer with Justin Raisen and Andrew Wyatt and co-wrote four of its eight songs.^[118][119] In June 2022, the band confirmed the album would be released later that year.^[118] They donated $1 of every pre-order of Cool It Down towards ClientEarth as part of their activism against climate change.^[120]

Cool It Down came out in September 2022 and, after the mixed reception of Mosquito, marked a critical resurgence for the band.^[121] Writers from AllMusic, NPR, and Rolling Stone said the album featured the band's most consistent work and Karen O's most refined songwriting yet.^{[122][123][124]} Consequence of Sound ranked it the fourth-best album of the year, and The Guardian placed it at 16th best.^[125][126] It received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, the band's fourth in the category,^[127] and the Libera Award for Marketing Genius.^[128] Three singles were released digitally: "Spitting Off the Edge of the World", "Burning", and "Wolf". The first of these featured Perfume Genius—the only Yeah Yeah Yeahs song to have a guest artist to date—and earned critical acclaim.^[129] It was nominated for the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance,^[130] and its music video (directed by Cody Critcheloe, designer of the Fever to Tell album art)^[131] was nominated for the Libera Award for Video of the Year.^[128] The song earned further recognition after appearing in The Gorge, topping two Billboard digital charts.^[24][132]

To promote Cool It Down, Yeah Yeah Yeahs played a small set of shows in June, July, and October 2022.^[117] They continued the tour internationally from May to August 2023, joined by Perfume Genius and the Faint.^[133] In March 2025, Yeah Yeah Yeahs announced the Hidden in Pieces Tour, which aimed to "showcase the band's catalog reimagined in a captivating new light, performing in intimate theater settings across both North America and the UK."^[134] The tour ran from June to July 2025^[134][135] and was critically acclaimed, with reviewers lauding the vulnerability displayed through the softer renditions of their discography. Journalists from the Chicago Sun-Times, Rolling Stone, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Times said the tour served as an example of the band's enduring talent and ingenuity.^[136] A portion of proceeds from the tour was donated to ClientEarth.^[134]