[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ce365czGC0&w=584&h=390%5D

1. It’s Called Mosquito, And There Is An Actual Song On It About Mosquitos.

It’s official: the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs record is finished and has been scheduled for an April 16th release, mere days before Record Store Day on April 20th. So if you didn’t know which CDs to get that day, now you do! The new record is called Mosquito. The fabulously zany Karen O recently told Pitchfork she wondered why there weren’t MORE songs about mosquitos, seeing how everybody hates them and everything. In the album teaser above Ms. O sings, “They can see you but you can’t see them,” which is HILARIOUS if you think about it. I can’t wait to start rocking out to mosquitos on the subway.

2. Did You SEE The Album Cover?

The crazy album cover was designed by South Korean artist and filmmaker Beomsik Shimbe Shim. Judging by that alone, this thing is going to be so b.a.n.a.n.a.s, and that’s why we all love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs anyway. Look at it: there’s an actual mosquito stinging a pink baby with some green slime on its mouth. What does THAT mean?!

3. James Murphy DID Work On The Record After All.

After a YouTube video featured Nick Zinner and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy in the studio together the Internet lost it, spreading rumors like wildfire that Murphy was producing the whole YYY album. Actually, Mosquito is produced by Dave Sitek from TV On the Radio — he also produced It’s Blitz! — but Murphy DID do a song with the band. It’s called “Nitrous Batcave.” Mosquitos and datcaves? Jesus this album is going to be weird!

4. It’s Probably Going To Sound A Lot Like Their Debut Fever To Tell.

I’ve always thought “Date With The Night” was the absolute best YYY song. It’s raw, gritty, loud, with an urgency you can’t get from expensive production methods. Judging by the album cover alone you can tell that Mosquito has much more in common with their roots sonically than with their previous efforts. And it makes sense to revisit your roots after ten years in the game. It’s Blitz!, had a clean, polished, new wave electro sound, but Ms. O promises that this time, “The album is extremely lo-fi. We had a shitty drum machine, a shitty sampled keyboard, tons of delay on the vocals. There’s a real tone, character, and style to it.”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGNHQKeoSGY&w=584&h=390%5D

5. Karen O., Who Is Now Blonde By The Way, Promises Us Some Crazy Looks.

What’s a front woman of the best art rock/indie rock band in the game without the promise of some ridiculous looks. Striped capes, masks, sheets on her face. This time, though, she’s planning to give us more suits. “I’m doing a lot of suits: Elvis in Vegas, Bootsy Collins, James Brown, Elton John. Old-school, Vegas, country and soul. It’s kind of moody, kind of glam.” Watch YYY perform “Mosquito” and catch a glimpse of the direction Karen O. is taking her looks:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI94o72LopI&w=584&h=390%5D

Mosquito is already one of the most anticipated albums of 2013, and so far it lives up to the hype.