Karen O, edgy, punk rock goddess and lead singer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, unexpectedly exposes her sensitive side in her haunting, ethereal debut solo album “Crush Songs.”
Released earlier this month, “Crush Songs” is an unconventional love story. Karen O takes us on a journey through the ups and downs of modern-day relationships. We vicariously follow along as she vividly illustrates how it feels to fall in love, fail at love, find new love and fall out of love.
The album consists of 15 simple, stripped down, acoustic songs that are each only about a minute to two minutes long. In this case, less is more.
Karen O sticks to the basics — unedited tracks featuring just her playful, growling vocals and a guitar — and uncovers a sense of authenticity and vulnerability. The length of the songs doesn’t hinder the album’s depth. Rather, the terse simplicity of the tracks contributes to meaning, symbolizing the naive innocence and the temporary nature of young love.
For example, “Sunset Sun” uses its short length to illustrate how temporary the mourning period of a breakup is. In only two stanzas and a minute and 13 seconds, Karen O optimistically and metaphorically compares a breakup to a sunset. The sun sets on the relationship, bringing a brief moment of pain and darkness. Soon, after a period of introspection, the sun rises and she realizes that she wasn’t with “the one.”
Karen O’s signature vocal acrobatics add a unique twist to Yeah Yeah Yeah’s bold, fast-paced, energetic sound. However, in her solo album, her stripped-down, unaltered and distinctive voice is in the foreground. Throughout the album, her voice seamlessly transforms from pained, emotionally-charged cries to gentle, sweet, melodious croons.
The album opens up with “Ooo,” a romantic, idyllic song that sounds like a lullaby. This song establishes the background of the album’s story: a starry-eyed girl who is blindly and blissfully infatuated with a boy she just met. Immediately afterwards, Karen O’s notes gradually get sharper and shorter in “Rapt,” “Visits” and “Beast,” respectively. Her somber voice oozes with distress to depict the hopelessness and confusion of a relationship gone sour.
Her striking, dramatic vocals passionately express the feelings associated with every stage of your average millennial relationship that we all can relate to. Rather than singing about love in an angsty, Taylor-Swift-past-relationship-bashing kind of way, Karen O balances openness and sensitivity with introspection and objectivity.
“Day Go By,” an infectious little melody, perfectly epitomizes lovesickness. Karen O describes all of the symptoms associated with a new crush: “Day break can’t wait for the night to fall/Can’t sleep I’m wasted, wasted/Can’t sleep make it to the dawn/ By the way/I really need my fix cause you got me so sick/I know/That I’m burning for you.” Her smooth, carefree vocals and quirky lyrics are irresistible and will make you catch the love bug.
“Body,” featured near the end of the album, is a catchy, anthemic track that is the moral to the album’s story. After minute-long tales of new love and lost love, Karen O tells it like it is: “If you love somebody, anybody/There will always be someone else/So make it right for yourself.” In this motivational track, the wise and talented musician relays a powerful message that everyone needs to hear with a cool sense of simplicity.
“Crush Songs” is easily Karen O’s greatest masterpiece. Granted, the album is not as exciting and in-your-face as her work with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but her versatility and angelic vulnerability prove that she is not just a singer in a band. Rather, she is a one-of-a-kind, powerful vocalist with eccentric style and limitless potential.
