Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Dirty rock with sass and class

Often called the YYYs by those much cooler than myself, I was once again late to the awesome-party when it comes to listening to these guys. Since I liked every song I had heard from the group on the ole’ radio, it seemed only natural that I finally dip my toe in and check out a full album.

Luckily, I’m gifted with wicked friends who are willing to make legal backups of their own CDs for me to look after for them. So instead of just one album, I was bombarded by all three of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ offerings at once.

As I was told to expect, the debut Fever to Tell had the best all-around music. The sound was gritty, the lyrics were spunky, punky and sharp and the experience was one of solid rock.

Show Your Bones was a nice middle ground with some poppier hits mixed in with the gruff tunes reminiscent of Fever.

To most, though, I would recommend the more recent and self titled offering Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Full of radio-friendly dance numbers, it also sports a nice collection of slower, more thoughtful ditties to help listeners gauge whether or not they are ready for the backlog.

Though if you like what you’ve heard on the radio for the past few years, such as myself, you should be in for a treat no matter which route you take.

There's no need to make comparisons to other bands since vocalist Karen Orzolek is nothing like what you've heard before.

The sound is solid and often complex, which can be a a bit of a workout for your ears the first time through. If you stick with it, though, there will be a moment where everything sort of clicks into place. Further listens will bring goofy grins and new discoveries as each song pulls back the layers for further exploration.

Call it punk. Call it alternative. Call it artsy. Call it whatever you want. The simple fact is that it's great rock music. Period.