“Gold Lion” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Gold Lion" led the charge for Show Your Bones, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' second album, out on Interscope in 2006, and it was the sound of the band deliberately stepping out of the garage. The band wrote it together, Karen O singing, Nick Zinner on guitar and Brian Chase on drums and percussion, and they produced it with David Andrew Sitek, with Alan Moulder and Zinner handling the mix.

Where the early records spat and clawed, this one struts and stomps. The rhythm thuds like a tribal march, Zinner's guitars strum and swell instead of shredding, and Karen O sounds cool and commanding, riding a chant that builds and builds until the whole thing roars. It's bigger, warmer and more open, alternative rock with room to breathe.

Critics liked what they heard, and in 2007 the song won a BMI London Pop Award. It charted in five countries, reaching number 18 in the UK and number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Patrick Daughters directed a video that earned an MVPA Award nomination.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.