3/5

Yeah Yeah Yeahs return with their fourth album “Mosquito,” a bold, but often lacking experiment.  The American indie rock band, created by Karen Orzalek (pianist and frontwoman), Brian Chase (drummer), and Nick Zimmer (guitarist and keyboardist).  Yeah Yeah Yeahs are known for their halting, artsy-punk sound, but “Mosquito” was a slight disappointment.

Although the group is known to experiment, many of the tracks seemed to indicate little effort.  The lyrics to “Mosquito” were unoriginal and repetitive, and grew as annoying in Orzalek’s shrill voice as the titular insect.  Perhaps the point of the song was to make the audience as uncomfortable as possible, but the artistic statement is unlikely to make people want to listen.

The variety in genre sometimes worked, like the gospel choir in the beginning track “Sacrilege,” but sometimes failed, like in the track “Buried Alive,” which featured rap artist Dr. Octagon and was out of place compared to the rest of the album.

The rest of the album continued in the same vein, with Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ characteristic off-kilter sound.  There is a lot of intentional syncopation that is hard to keep track of, and the sound is quite often abrupt.  Orzalek’s voice is distinctive and jarring, whether she sounds soft and saccharine sweet to literally shrieking and cracking.

But despite the energy and abundance of rhythm and noise, there is little emotional expansion.  The album is claustrophobic, with tracks like “Buried Alive,” “Subway,” and “Under the Earth,” and there’s a general feeling of paranoia.

The best songs on the album were “Despair,” “Subway,” and “Under the Earth.”  The worst were probably “Area 52” and “Buried Alive.”

“Mosquito” may have deep artistic tendencies, but the message projected by Yeah Yeah Yeahs is unclear (and almost certainly unpleasant).  Listening to “Mosquito” will not make you feel good, not even in if you want to wallow in misery and negative emotion.

While the album isn’t a failure in its entirety, it does not satisfy.  Somehow, even within the frantic instrumentation and range Orzalek’s voice brings, “Mosquito” feels empty of devotion and passion; it sounds like a randomly shuffled mixtape of nonchalant experiments, which, while not worthless, doesn’t feel entirely worthwhile.