The trio hailing from Brooklyn has once again put themselves on the radar with their recently released “Is Is” [EP]. This effort will leave fans of both “Fever to Hell” and “Show Your Bones” begging for more as the songs effortlessly transition from their initial underdone sound to the more polished layout of the second album. The five-track teaser-teaser because it leaves you stirring in anticipating for the next album-was actually recorded in 2004 while the band toured. The band referred to this time following their first release as one of their most turbulent. Filled with an array of lyrics, some sexually electric while others of a more affecting tone, the songs are highlighted by Karen O’s screeching and enthralling voice. On “Kiss Kiss,” O seems to beg the listener to “everywhere kiss me” as Nick Zinner and Brian Chase supply the tap-along melody that’s consistent throughout Is Is. The opening track of the EP, “Rockers to Swallow,” is the peak song where O delivers her kick-ass screeches and howls that are sure to give anyone goose bumps. The video from the song also offers a unique look as the band is shot live in night vision at a gallery in Brooklyn for an audience that was required to wear Zorro-esque masks. Overall, “Is Is” has a raw quality that will take any listener and carry them into the grimy hole-in-the-wall Williamsburg bars where the band first plugged in. From beginning to end the five song EP will deliver to fans, old or new.
Marcos Col