Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

It was always going to be hard to top 'Fever to Tell' – an album that has grown to define the New York rock explosion of a few years back, and live this band is hard to better. First single Gold Lion is getting the radio play it deserves, and this album has the trademark YYY's sound throughout, albeit without the raw passion of its predecessor. It still rocks hard, to the point of being far superior to the waft of indie wannabes crowding the scene at the moment. While a little more subdued with acoustic guitar appearing on many tracks, it's not a step into the mainstream, more a shuffle away from the fringes. The acidic lyrics remain, as do the great guitar riffs, lorry-loads of distortion and drums that are belted to within an inch of their skins. [Xavier Toby]