THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “It could only be called alchemy — the transformative magic that happens during the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ most tuned-in moments in the studio, when their unique chemistry sparks opens a portal, and out comes a song like Maps or Zero or the latest addition to their canon, Spitting off the Edge of the World — an epic shot to the heart of pure YYYs beauty and power.
A thunderstorm of a return is what the legendary trio — Karen O, Nick Zinner and Brian Chase —have in store for us on Cool It Down, their fifth studio album and their first since 2013’s Mosquito. The eight-track collection, bound to be a landmark in their catalog, is an expert distillation of their best gifts that impels you to move, cry and listen closely.
“To all who have waited, our dear fans, thank you, our fever to tell has returned, and writing these songs came with its fair share of chills, tears, and euphoria when the pain lifts and truth is revealed,” says Karen O. “Don’t have to tell you how much we’ve been going through in the last nine years since our last record, because you’ve been going through it too, and we love you and we see you, and we hope you feel the feels from the music we’ve made. No shying away from the feels, or backing down from what’s been gripping all of us these days. So yes we’ve taken our time, happy to report when it’s ready it really does just flow out.
“The record is called Cool It Down which is snagged from a lesser-known Velvet Underground song. I told Alex Prager, whose photo graces our record cover, that her image speaks to sweeping themes in the music and sums up how I, Karen, feel existentially in these times! But there’s always more to the story. This is how our new story begins.”
The band recently shared the first single, the Dave Sitek-produced Spitting Off The Edge Of The World featuring Perfume Genius. The haunting and powerful song is cocooned by the interplay of Karen O and Perfume Genius’s immediately recognizable vocals. The lyrics reflect on the state of the environment, and the need for honesty about the damage we’re doing to the Earth. Karen explains, “I see the younger generations staring down this threat, and they’re standing on the edge of a precipice, confronting what’s coming with anger and defiance,” she says. “It’s galvanizing, and there’s hope there.”
Perfume Genius also co-stars in the visual for Spitting, as an avenging angel limo driver to her desert rebel queen. The visual was directed by longtime YYYs collaborator Cody Critcheloe (aka Ssion), who designed the artwork for Fever To Tell and also directed Perfume Genius’s amazing Queen video.
“A note on this video,” says Karen O. “The shoot in Kansas City was dream-like, the dreams you have after eating something really greasy right before bed; bizarre, poetic, and intense. Perfume Genius was incredibly gracious to roll in the very cold mud as my co-pilot and steal scene after scene with his surreal charm. We trusted Cody implicitly, he surpassed expectations and gave us our November Rain. YYYs spirit is alive and well through the eyes of Cody Critcheloe. Custom Yeahs limo was largely his handiwork, fueled on love.”
