Everyone’s favourite New York-based indie art punks recently unveiled the release date (and awful, awful artwork) for their fourth studio album, and with today’s kick off of the Big Day Out in Sydney, Australian audiences are among the first to be privy to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs newest material.
The trio of Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase, are one of the drawcards of the touring festival, playing an evening slot ahead on the Blue Stage ahead of headliners The Killers and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the one and only Yeah Yeah Yeahs sideshow in Sydney (at The Metro next Tuesday 22nd Jan) also proved popular, selling out long ago.
So what’s an enterprising fan to do if they missed out on tickets to both the one-day music festival and the sole Sydney gig… start putting the pieces together and keep your ear to the ground.
Drummer Brian Chase has been dropping hints that Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be delivering an extra, ‘secret’ performance in addition to their Big Day Out commitments; telling FasterLouder to expect some ‘local, underground announcements’ when the band touched down in Australia, teasing: “people have their ear to the ground, I think they might pick up on it.”
Additionally Modular, the band’s label, yesterday released some (very thin) details of a show called What We Do Is Secret taking place at Darlinghurst Bar Tatler for this evening from 10pm ’til late featuring “international guests.”
It might not seem like much to go on, but there is precedent. Namely in the band’s visit to Australia last May for VIVID Live as part of Karen O’s “psycho-opera” Stop The Virgens, but took time to play a show at The Flinders in Surry Hills, under the banner of “Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Australian Friends’.Drummer Brian Chase has been dropping hints that Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be delivering an extra, ‘secret’ performance in addition to their Big Day Out commitments…
Chase called the not-so-secret event “an improvised collaboration” with local artists, including neo-chanteuse Sophia Brous, her bassist Shags Chamberlain (Lost Animal/Pikelet), Jack Mannix of Circle Pit, as well as Melbourne’s only M83-baiting, bar-brawling quintet: Teenage Mothers.
The best bet is to keep an eye on Modular’s social media movements to see if any Yeah Yeah Yeahs-related hints begin to surface.
In related news, the band recently revealed that their latest album, the follow-up to 2009’s commercially and critically lauded It’s Blitz!, is dropping April 16th 2013. Titled Mosquito, the new record features production from TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek, and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem fame, while Karen O describes that “so much feeling went into this record.”
“It was the rope ladder thrown down into the ditch for us to climb up and dust ourselves off. I hope others can climb up it too; we’re excited to share the good vibes,” adds Ms O. “We would love for this music to make our fans feeeeel something, for it to stir some shit up inside of them, whatever that may be.”
The controversially trashy artwork has already stirred up some feelings, you can view the cover art and a teaser for Mosquito below, and we’ll endeavour to keep an ear to the whispers to see whether the Modular show is indeed the secret Yeah Yeah Yeahs gig, or something else entirely…
