Yeah Yeah Yeahs Release New Song, ‘Sacrilege’

“Sacrilege,” the new single from New York City rock outfit, Yeah Yeah Yeahs has just premiered on Zane Lowe’s BBC1 music program.

The new song will be the first track from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs upcoming album, Mosquito and is the first full length sample the band has offered their eager fans. Earlier this month, the band released a teaser preview of material from Mosquito which featured samples from a second song from the album, “Always.” Entertainment Weekly‘s Music Mix reports the new album will be released on April 16.

“Sacrilege” has a heavy gospel vein and is a slowdown from some of the band’s more popular previous material. NME notes a comparison to the Scottish alternative rock band, Cocteau Twins due to the song’s ethereal sound. In an interview with NME, Yeah Yeah Yeahs front lady, Karen O said about the new album, “…it’s definitely different from the last album. So I guess you could say that hasn’t changed about us! It’s all over the place. The sound of the record is, I guess, a bit more lo-fi sounding and slightly more influenced by roots reggae. There’s a lot of delay on stuff and there’s a more raw sound to it than there was last time.”

Mosquito will be the first new material since Yeah Yeah Yeahs released It’s Blitz! in 2009. Both NME and Spin named It’s Blitz! as one of the Top 3 albums of that year. Music Mix notes Karen O had also collaborated with Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor on the Led Zeppelin cover, “Immigrant Song” for movie, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

2013 will be a busy year for Yeah Yeah Yeahs. NME reports the band has confirmed appearances for the SXSW festival in Austin next month, and will also be curating the I’ll Be Your Mirror festival alongside Grizzly Bear in May, while performing shows through the UK around the same time.

Meanwhile, early reactions to the new song “Sacrilege” are overwhelmingly positive, with Music Mix already claiming Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a contender for best album of 2013.