Fever To Tell
Well before the release of this solid but slender debut, the Brooklyn-based Yeah Yeah Yeahs were the subject of so much international press hype that theWhite  Stripeswere probably taking quick, nervous peeks over their shoulders. But whileFever to Tellcaptures a lot of what’s good about the trio--mostly the caterwauling energy of their club shows--it also exposes the band’s limitations. Singer Karen O is the undeniable star here, contorting her voice from a primalP.J. Harveygrowl to the pre-orgasmic purr of Chrissie Hynde. Nick Zinner chops, slashes, and torpedoes his guitar around, across, and straight at O’s voice, while drummer Brian Chase delivers a suitably raw trash-can thump.  There are a lot of cool sounds on this 11-song, 37-minuute disc, and enough metallic-KO attitude to make a bare-chested grandpa likeIggy Popproud. What’s missing is a more varied set of fully fleshed-out songs, the kind it took the White Stripes four albums to write. Hype too early in a career can be terrible burden--askLiz Phairor, soon enough, theVines. Better to enjoyFever to Tellfor what it is--an uninhibited blast of garage-rock fury--without swallowing  extravagant claims for a potentially great band still under construction.--Keith Moerer