There is something fabulous about the chorus to Heads Will Roll, the second track of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' third album. For the first few minutes, yappy frontwoman Karen O sounds like an imperious 12-year-old. But then comes the chorus with its glacial 70s synths, and she suddenly bursts into life. "Off, off, off with your head!/ Dance, dance, dance till you're dead!" she booms, and it justifies her indie-icon status like nothing else she's ever done. No other track on It's Blitz! surpasses that 10 seconds, but the band's glittery new disco sound suits them very well. It's all cool, brittle catchiness, with a debt owed to Eat to the Beat-era Blondie - something they partially repay through the album's euphoric twin peaks, Zero and Hysteric. Karen O's froideur carries even lesser songs, such as Skeletons' formulaic new wave, and imbues the ballad Little Shadow with the majesty of an ice queen. Great stuff.
• Available to download now; the CD is released on 6 April.
