Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Live

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Shepherd's Bush Empire
Sunday April 26th

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have gone all electro? What happened to the filthy riffs and filthier vocals? Worry not, enthusiasts of Karen O's provocative gasps and Nick Zinner's distinctive solos – they're all present and correct.

Zinner doesn't even put his guitar down – an additional tour band member takes synths duties. But it isn't simply business as usual for the New York three-piece, everything is up a notch. They open with two tracks from new album It's Blitz, a tingling intro from Karen O setting up the fireworks of Runaway and Dull Life shooting off at frenetic pace.

Gold Lion's thundering opening moves the crowd, already boisterous, to rampant, before Honeybear gives the vocalist the chance to show off a sneaky shuffle as she begins to stride around the stage with the jubilant abandon of a woman clearly in her element.

Then, finally, debut album Fever To Tell gets an airing, with the set highlight Black Tongue. It's lost none of its potency, the thrilling confrontation of "boy you're just a stupid bitch and girl you're just a no good dick" ringing through the crashing, shrieking sound the band generate.

Karen O changes her outfit more times than many singers do their position on stage, adding a black leather jacket emblazoned with her initials for the fizzing intro of Zero. The single gets the frantic reaction it screams for, zipping lights and minor explosions watched over by a giant inflatable eye hanging above Brian Chase's rapidly-beaten drumset.

This is spun into a moon to mark the darkening of the mood as Cheated Hearts' more meaningful refrain heralds a lull in pace that features the pedestrian Skeletons and the emotional Maps. These lack the pizzazz of other material, but add a tension-filled grandeur to the set, stopping it collapsing into its own chaos.

The encore sees this off with giddy simplicity, Y Control spinning into view. Zinner is unable to stay facing in one direction as his instrument chugs out each monumental, purging blast, twisting to intricate angles as Chase's drums maintain a heady rhythm to complement Karen O's slippery delivery.After the pleasant surprise of Poor Song, which isn't at all as its title suggests, it is left to the raw, breathless Date With The Night to tell its tale of sex and nothing, ear-splittingly loud and still tight despite its recklessness.

As their albums get consecutively more accessible, Yeah Yeah Yeahs live show is becoming increasingly accomplished, but still maintains the persuasive, formidable electricity of their burgeoning years. What a release, what a relief.