Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Emerging with an artistic yet seductive spin on garage punk, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs swiftly earned recognition as one of the standout acts tied to the early-2000s rock resurgence, yet the trio kept finding fresh ways to astonish audiences in the decades that followed. Their 2001 self-titled EP introduced Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase as a unit whose raw and provocative presence commanded immediate attention, while the 2003 full-length debut Fever to Tell unveiled an unexpected emotional depth through the moving single “Maps.” The 2006 release Show Your Bones brought greater refinement and tunefulness, the 2009 album It’s Blitz! infused the sound with shimmering dance-floor elements, and Mosquito in 2013 returned the focus to their rock foundations. After nearly ten years, the alternately buoyant and contemplative Cool It Down arrived in 2022, reaffirming that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs remained among alternative music’s most imaginative and singular voices.

Born in Busan, South Korea, to a Korean mother and a Polish father, Karen O grew up primarily in Englewood, New Jersey. At Ohio’s Oberlin College she encountered drummer Brian Chase, who was studying jazz at the conservatory there. After transferring to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, she met guitarist Nick Zinner, a photographer then performing with Challenge of the Future (previously the Boba Fett Experience). The two began performing folky material as Unitard in 2000; soon afterward they formed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, drawing inspiration from Ohio’s storied avant-punk community. When the first drummer they enlisted withdrew, Chase completed the lineup.

At their initial rehearsal the Yeah Yeah Yeahs generated a substantial batch of songs and quickly began opening for the Strokes and the White Stripes at area venues. Late in 2001 they issued their self-titled debut EP on the independent Shifty label, having recorded it with Boss Hog’s Jerry Teel. Early the following year the band gained wider notice, performing at South by Southwest, touring the United States with Girls Against Boys and Europe with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and headlining their own dates in the U.K. Wichita Recordings handled the EP in Britain while Touch & Go reissued it domestically; the release earned enthusiastic notices and reached the top of the U.K. Indie Chart.

During breaks between tours in 2002 the group finalized its first full-length album and played U.S. shows alongside Sleater-Kinney, Liars, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Preferring independence from major-label involvement, the band chose to fund and produce the record themselves, enlisting TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek at Brooklyn’s Headgear Studio before Zinner mixed the results with Alan Moulder in London. In November 2002 they released the interim Machine EP, drawn from sessions for the debut. Issued on Interscope in April 2003, Fever to Tell introduced clearer production and broader songwriting within their arty garage-punk framework. The album sustained critical momentum, secured a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album, and achieved commercial traction by reaching number 55 on the Billboard 200 and number 13 on the U.K. Albums Chart. In 2004 the ballad “Maps” became a hit, elevating the project to gold certification in both markets.

After their breakthrough the members pursued separate endeavors. O contributed vocals to the Squeak E. Clean collaboration “Hello Tomorrow,” featured in a Spike Jonze-directed Nike commercial, and worked with Har Mar Superstar and Peaches. Zinner appeared on Bright Eyes’ Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, toured with the group, recorded with Head Wound City, and published the photography book I Hope You Are All Happy Now. The trio reconvened in 2005 to track their sophomore album with producer Squeak E. Clean and additional contributions from Sitek, Moulder, Chris Coady, and Money Mark. Released in March 2006, Show Your Bones displayed a more seasoned and refined dimension. It built on prior success, peaking at number 11 in the U.S. and number seven in the U.K., where it earned gold status, while charting internationally and receiving another Best Alternative Music Album Grammy nomination. The band toured extensively through the remainder of the year and returned in summer 2007 with the Is Is EP, featuring previously unreleased material written between the first two albums and paired with a short film; produced by Nick Launay, the EP reached number 72 on the Billboard 200.

Individual activity persisted: Chase issued an album with Seth Misterka, O recorded a version of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” for the soundtrack to I’m Not There and began the side project Native Korean Rock, while Zinner contributed to Celebration’s The Modern Tribe and Scarlett Johansson’s Anywhere I Lay My Head. For their third album the group altered its working methods. Once again partnering with Launay and Sitek, they composed in the studio by looping and editing material in a dance-music style. It’s Blitz!, which steered the sound toward a sleeker, electronic palette, appeared in March 2009 and included performances by Greg Kurstin, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, and live guitarist Imaad Wasif. The album climbed to number 22 in the U.S. and entered the U.K. top ten. After its release, Slint and Tortoise guitarist David Pajo succeeded Wasif. Subsequent side projects encompassed the Chase/Misterka Duo’s Australian tour and another album, The Shape of Sound; O collaborated with the Flaming Lips, David Lynch, and Trent Reznor; and Zinner released the photography collection Please Take Me Off the Guest List while guesting on releases by Sitek’s Maximum Balloon project, Dum Dum Girls, James Iha, and Santigold. In May 2011 Zinner staged the 41 Strings performance honoring the 41st Earth Day with an all-star roster of participants.

By late 2011 the band had begun work on its fourth album. Reuniting with Sitek and Launay, they also incorporated James Murphy. Mosquito, released in April 2013, adopted a rawer, more aggressive tone, securing the group’s third U.K. top-ten placement and, at number five on the Billboard 200, its first U.S. top-ten album. That same year Zinner rejoined Challenge of the Future for a benefit concert and contributed to Santigold’s “Shooting Arrows at the Sky” on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, while Chase issued Drum & Drones. Following the Mosquito tour the Yeah Yeah Yeahs entered a prolonged hiatus during which members stayed active: O delivered her solo debut Crush Songs in September 2014 on Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records label, which reached number 44 on the Billboard 200 and number eight on the Top Alternative Albums chart, and appeared on Walter Martin’s We’re All Young Together alongside Zinner, who reconvened with Head Wound City for 2016’s A New Wave of Violence and worked with Deap Vally and Santigold. In October 2017 the band reissued Fever to Tell on vinyl with B-sides and earlier demos and performed several concerts; O also joined Daniele Luppi and Parquet Courts on Milano. The following year the trio played London’s All Points Festival, Chase released Drums & Drones II, and Zinner toured with the Rentals while recording with Amen Dunes. Zinner further appeared on O’s 2019 album Lux Prima, whose single “Woman” earned a Grammy nomination, and on Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher and Liam Gallagher’s C’mon You Know before the Yeah Yeah Yeahs returned with their fifth album, the polished Cool It Down, in September 2022. Titled after a track from the Velvet Underground’s Loaded, the record reunited the band with Sitek and juxtaposed introspective, atmospheric material with brightly uplifting songs.