Nine years since their last album, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back with a melodic collection to rival their earlier releases. Less abrasive than those former albums, ‘Cool It Down’ nonetheless retains their aesthetic essence over eight tracks of gliding synth and effects heavy guitar atmospheres, deep rolling bass lines, and sparse percussion. ‘Fleez’ would fit within any of their previous releases while the spoken word poetics of ‘Mars’ are an all new addition to their oeuvre. ‘Different Today’ acts as the best exemplar of the new direction as the most structurally familiar track, yet Karen O’s delivery is warmer and fuzz guitars are now replaced by glowing synth chords. Opening track, and album highlight, ‘Spitting Off the Edge of the World’ features a soaring build that is as immediately affecting as anything the band have done while a brief cameo by Perfume Genius ratchets up the emotive stakes.