Mosquito (Yeah Yeah Yeahs album) explained

Mosquito
Type:	studio
Artist:	Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Cover:	Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito.png
Alt:	A computer-animated image of a nude, screaming infant being grabbed by a giant mosquito
Studio:	Sonic Ranch (Tornillo, Texas) Stratosphere Sound (New York City) DFA (New York City) Squeak E. Clean (Echo Park, California) The Square (London)
Genre:	Art rock^[1] art punk^[2]
Label:	Dress Up Interscope
Producer:	Nick Launay James Murphy David Andrew Sitek Sam Spiegel
Prev Year:	2009
Next Title:	Cool It Down
Next Year:	2022

Mosquito is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released on April 12, 2013, by Interscope Records. The lead single "Sacrilege" was released on February 26, 2013.^[3] "Despair" was released as the second single on July 19, 2013.^[4]

Karen O described the album as "extremely lo-fi", explaining: "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."^[5]

Promotion

The full album was posted on Noisey's YouTube page featuring a track-by-track interview with the band on April 2, 2013.^[6] On April 5, the band appeared on Late Show with David Letterman to perform "Sacrilege" accompanied by the gospel choir Broadway Inspirational Voices.^[7] Yeah Yeah Yeahs performed the songs "Mosquito" and "Sacrilege" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 15.^[8]

A music video for the title track, directed by B. Shimbe Shim, debuted on May 8, 2013.^[9] The video for the second single "Despair" was directed by Patrick Daughters and premiered on June 21.^{[10] [11]}

Reception

Critical response

Mosquito received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 39 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[12]

Commercial performance

Mosquito entered the Billboard 200 at number five with 38,000 copies sold in its first week, earning the band their first top-10 album on the chart.^[13] The album debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 9,150 copies, becoming the band's third consecutive top-10 album.^[14]

Accolades

Mosquito was ranked number 30 on NMEs "50 Best Albums of 2013" list and number 40 on Vices "Top 50 Albums of 2013" list.^{[15] [16]}

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of Mosquito.^[17]

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

• Brian Chase – drums, cymbals, percussion, vocals
• Karen O – vocals, bass, keyboards
• Nick Zinner – guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals

Additional musicians

• David Andrew Sitek – bass
• Money Mark – keyboards
• Dr. Octagon – vocals
• Debra Barsha – choir vocal arrangement
• Michael McElroy – choir leader
• Danielle Chambers – choir
• Shayna Cook – choir
• Bradley Dean – choir
• Laura Dean – choir
• Tanesha Gray – choir
• Lucia Giannetta – choir
• Renee Goldsberry – choir
• Danielle L. Greaves – choir
• Marva Hicks – choir
• Zonya Johnson – choir
• Chelsea Krombach – choir
• Adriane Lenox – choir
• Lisa Lynne Mathis – choir
• Travis Morin – choir
• Jesse Nager – choir
• John Eric Parker – choir
• Desiree Rodriguez – choir
• Eliseo Roman – choir
• Michael Seelbach – choir
• Virginia Woodruff – choir

Technical

• Nick Launay – production ; recording, engineering
• David Andrew Sitek – production ; recording, engineering
• James Murphy – production ; recording, engineering
• Sam Spiegel – production ; recording, engineering
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – production
• Nick Zinner – mixing
• Wes Fontenot – mixing, engineering
• Manuel Calderon – engineering ; engineering assistance
• Abby Echiverri – mixing ; engineering
• Zeph Sowers – recording, engineering
• Atom – engineering assistance
• Rudyard Lee Cullers – engineering assistance
• Nathan Eldridge – engineering assistance
• Matt Foster – engineering assistance
• Charles Godfrey – engineering assistance
• Matt Thornley – engineering assistance
• Craig Silvey – mixing
• Eduardo de la Paz – mixing assistance
• Greg Calbi – mastering

Artwork

• Beomsik Shimbe Shim – art
• Julian Gross – design, layout
• Karen O – concept
• Dan Martensen – back cover photo

Charts

Chart (2013)! scope="col"

Peak position
Croatian Albums (HDU)^[18]	23
Greek Albums (IFPI)^[19]	27
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[20]	54
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)^[21]	66
South Korean Albums (Gaon)^[22]	88

Release history

Region! scope="col"

Date	Format	Edition	Label
Australia	April 12, 2013			Modular	^[23] ^[24] ^[25] ^[26]
Germany				Universal	^[27] ^[28] ^[29] ^[30]
		LP	Standard		^[31]
United Kingdom	April 15, 2013			Polydor	^[32] ^[33] ^[34] ^[35]
		LP	Standard		^[36]
United States	April 16, 2013				^[37] ^[38] ^[39] ^[40]
		LP	Standard		^[41]
Canada			Deluxe	Universal	^[42] ^[43]
			Standard		^[44] ^[45]
Japan	April 17, 2013	CD			^[46]
		Digital download			^[47] ^[48]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito . . April 15, 2013 . November 8, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000851/https://www.cmj.com/yeah-yeah-yeahs-mosquito/ . March 4, 2016.
2. Web site: Gill . Andy . Album review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Mosquito (Interscope) . . April 11, 2013 . November 8, 2015.
3. Web site: Sacrilege: Yeah Yeah Yeahs: MP3 Downloads . . United Kingdom . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160324125817/http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sacrilege-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00BNW186O . March 24, 2016.
4. Web site: Despair (2015) Yeah Yeah Yeahs . . Ireland . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140811202358/http://ie.7digital.com/artist/yeah-yeah-yeahs/release/despair-1 . August 11, 2014.
5. Web site: Battan . Carrie . Yeah Yeah Yeahs . . January 14, 2013 . November 30, 2021.
6. Web site: Noisey . Noisey . Yeah Yeah Yeahs – 'Mosquito' Full Album Preview and Interview . April 2, 2013 . April 2, 2013 . YouTube.
7. Web site: Minsker . Evan . Watch Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Letterman . Pitchfork . April 6, 2013 . April 6, 2013.
8. Web site: Hogan . Mark . Yeah Yeah Yeahs Buzz Through 'Mosquito' and 'Sacrilege' for 'Kimmel' . . April 16, 2013 . November 8, 2015.
9. Web site: Corner . Lewis . Yeah Yeah Yeahs premiere 'Mosquito' music video – watch . . May 8, 2013 . November 8, 2015.
10. Web site: Ryzik . Melena . Video: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Perform Atop Empire State Building . . June 21, 2013 . July 12, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140528164811/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/who-knew-the-empire-state-building-was-so-hip/ . May 28, 2014.
11. Web site: Minsker . Evan . Watch: Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Despair" Video, Filmed on Top of the Empire State Building . Pitchfork . June 24, 2013 . July 12, 2013.
12. Web site: Mosquito by Yeah Yeah Yeahs Reviews and Tracks . . July 3, 2018.
13. Caulfield . Keith . Fall Out Boy Tops Kid Cudi on Billboard 200 Chart . Billboard . April 24, 2013 . April 24, 2013.
14. Web site: Jones . Alan . Official Charts Analysis: Michael Buble album sells 121k copies . . April 22, 2013 . July 22, 2018 . subscription.
15. Web site: NME's 50 Best Albums Of 2013 . NME . November 26, 2013 . July 3, 2018.
16. Web site: VICE's Top 50 Albums of 2013 . . December 18, 2013 . July 3, 2018.
17. Mosquito . deluxe edition liner notes . . . 2013 . B0018274-02.
18. Web site: Top Kombiniranih – Tjedan 19. 2013. . Top Combined – Week 19, 2013 . hr . . May 17, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032208/http://www.hdu-toplista.com/index.php?what=arhiva&w=details&id=1178 . March 4, 2016.
19. Web site: Official Cyta-IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Εβδομάδα: 19/2013) . . January 16, 2022 . https://archive.today/20130520181917/http://www.ifpi.gr/charts_en.html . May 20, 2013.
20. Web site: モスキート ヤー・ヤー・ヤーズ . Mosquito Yeah Yeah Yeahs . . ja . November 8, 2015.
21. Web site: Top 100 México – Semana Del 29 de Abril al 05 de Mayo 2013 . es . . May 18, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130522220847/http://www.centrodedesarrollodigital.com/amprofon3/Top100.pdf . live . May 22, 2013.
22. Web site: 2013년 18주차 Album Chart . ko . . November 8, 2015.
23. Web site: Mosquito . . August 9, 2014 . https://archive.today/20140812015526/https://www.jbhifi.com.au/music/browse/alternative/mosquito/309212/ . August 12, 2014.
24. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe Edition) . JB Hi-Fi . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140814155222/https://www.jbhifi.com.au/music/browse/alternative/mosquito-deluxe-edition/309216/ . August 14, 2014.
25. Web site: Mosquito (2013) Yeah Yeah Yeahs . . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140810065037/http://www.zdigital.com.au/artist/yeah-yeah-yeahs/release/mosquito . August 10, 2014.
26. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe) (2013) Yeah Yeah Yeahs . zdigital . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140810072039/http://www.zdigital.com.au/artist/yeah-yeah-yeahs/release/mosquito-7 . August 10, 2014.
27. Web site: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Mosquito . . de . April 25, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140219215230/http://www.universal-music.de/yeah-yeah-yeahs/diskografie/detail/product:186557/mosquito . February 19, 2014.
28. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe Edition im Digipack inkl. 4 Bonustracks): Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Amazon . de . Germany . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130808070649/https://www.amazon.de/Mosquito-Deluxe-Edition-Digipack-Bonustracks/dp/B00B10X9BK . August 8, 2013.
29. Web site: Mosquito [+digital booklet]

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs: MP3-Downloads ]

    . Amazon . de . Germany . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140810152038/https://www.amazon.de/Mosquito-digital-booklet-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00CBQG9DI . August 10, 2014.
30. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe) [+digital booklet]

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs: MP3-Downloads ]

    . Amazon . de . Germany . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140810162338/https://www.amazon.de/Mosquito-Deluxe-digital-booklet-Yeahs/dp/B00CBQR5GI . August 10, 2014.
31. Web site: Mosquito [Vinyl LP]

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs ]

    . Amazon . de . Germany . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140810155125/https://www.amazon.de/Mosquito-Vinyl-LP-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B10XACI . August 10, 2014.
32. Web site: Mosquito: Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Amazon . United Kingdom . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180703133335/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mosquito-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B17S5RG . July 3, 2018.
33. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe Edition): Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Amazon . United Kingdom . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160324223439/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mosquito-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B10X9BK . March 24, 2016.
34. Web site: Mosquito [+digital booklet]

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs: MP3 Downloads ]

    . Amazon . United Kingdom . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140812050348/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mosquito-digital-booklet-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00CBUIR1G . August 12, 2014.
35. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe) [+digital booklet]

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs: MP3 Downloads ]

    . Amazon . United Kingdom . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140812121958/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mosquito-Deluxe-digital-booklet-Yeahs/dp/B00CBUIX1K . August 12, 2014.
36. Web site: Mosquito [VINYL]

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs ]

    . Amazon . United Kingdom . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140812050410/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mosquito-VINYL-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B10XACI . August 12, 2014.
37. Web site: Mosquito: Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Amazon . United States . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160120034337/https://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B17S5RG . January 20, 2016.
38. Web site: Mosquito [Deluxe Edition] ]. Amazon . United States . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130429074857/http://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B10X9BK . April 29, 2013.
39. Web site: Mosquito [+digital booklet]

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs: MP3 Downloads ]

    . Amazon . United States . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130424054335/https://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-digital-booklet/dp/B00C7EVPNS . April 24, 2013.
40. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe) [+digital booklet]

    Yeah Yeah Yeahs: MP3 Downloads ]

    . Amazon . United States . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180703060338/https://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Deluxe-Explicit-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00C7EW2H6 . July 3, 2018.
41. Web site: Mosquito (Vinyl): Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Amazon . United States . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160509105644/https://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-LP-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B10XACI . May 9, 2016.
42. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe): Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Amazon . Canada . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160307205335/https://www.amazon.ca/Mosquito-Deluxe-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B10X9BK . March 7, 2016.
43. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe) (2013) Yeah Yeah Yeahs . 7digital . Canada . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140811055952/https://ca.7digital.com/artist/yeah-yeah-yeahs/release/mosquito-4 . August 11, 2014.
44. Web site: Mosquito (Vinyl): Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Amazon . Canada . July 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180703133352/https://www.amazon.ca/Mosquito-Vinyl-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B00B10XACI . July 3, 2018.
45. Web site: Mosquito (2013) Yeah Yeah Yeahs . 7digital . Canada . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140811055946/https://ca.7digital.com/artist/yeah-yeah-yeahs/release/mosquito-3 . August 11, 2014.
46. Web site: モスキート . Mosquito . . ja . April 25, 2013.
47. Web site: Mosquito by Yeah Yeah Yeahs . . Japan . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140821082545/https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/mosquito/id606892874?l=en . August 21, 2014.
48. Web site: Mosquito (Deluxe) by Yeah Yeah Yeahs . iTunes Store . Japan . August 9, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140821082417/https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/mosquito-deluxe/id606889067?l=en . August 21, 2014.