Listening to the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album you could be forgiven for thinking that you have been given the wrong disc.

Because although the New York trio's trademark elements are all here, the sound is startlingly different to that of its predecessor, Fever to Tell, and the band come across as a pale imitation of themselves.

Karen O's powerful voice is noticeably restrained, the raw production levels have been replaced with a more consummate sound and the band's thrash punk tendencies with a less subtle, commercial template.

The thrilling intensity and jagged nature of their debut seems to have been lost - ironed out by an over-zealous producer.

With a band as talented as this there are bound to be moments of magic, as the disarming guitar solos of Gold Lion and Fancy testify, but the muzzled drums and suppressed guitars make for a frustrating listen.

In the right hands, this could have been so much more.

Released March 27, 2006.