Mediocrity in a minute, times three

A voice is a terrible thing to waste. Worse yet, wasting a strong, vibrant voice is nothing… A voice is a terrible thing to waste. Worse yet, wasting a strong, vibrant voice is nothing short of a musical crime. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs commit this offense throughout their debut full-length album, Forever To Tell.

The Strokes reinvented the garage-punk sound, taking it out of the ?70s and hurling it into the new millennium, where it was much needed. Enter a new musical wave, complete with The Vines, The Hives, The White Stripes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, whose vocalist is female.

Scratchy guitar riffs and pounding percussion solidify the new-wave signature sound, but Karen O’s muffled, distorted voice weakens the final product. The girl has a set of lungs ? that’s apparent. Why, then, would the band choose not to play that up? She sexily shrieks and screams “uh huhs” on “Black Tongue” and howls on “Man.” When her un-reverberated voice is finally unleashed on “Maps” and “Modern Romance,” she croons the lyrics softly, and a Lucinda Williams twang shines through.

The album cover carries a Parental Advisory label. While there is a good deal of profanity and sexual undertones, it isn’t vulgar enough to attach the stigma of Tipper Gore’s censorship victory to it.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs garage-punk rock sound is something that the music industry could use more of ? bubblegum teenybopper pop has lost its luster but is still going strong, way past its prime. If Karen O’s vocal chords are allowed to live up to their ability, Brian Chase’s drums and Nick Zinner’s guitar riffs will shine through all the brighter.