As Yeah Yeah Yeahs entered the studio to record their third album It’s Blitz!, Nick Zinner brought along a vintage synthesizer. The synth gave him a new color to paint with and brought Yeah Yeah Yeahs closer to the danceable art-punk tradition of Talking Heads. The album’s second single “Heads Will Roll” begins with Zinner’s hazy keyboard swells before Chase enters with a disco beat. It feels ominous. Chase’s backbeat suggests a good time. But the synth foreshadows a bad ending to the story.
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