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After a nearly decade-long break, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back with “Cool It Down,” an expansive album that dares to imagine a bold, fresh future. Over the course of four studio albums — the last and highest-charting, “Mosquito,” was released in 2013 — Yeah Yeah Yeahs came to define the resurgent New York rock scene of the early 2000s. The group evolved from its lo-fi roots, bringing in acoustic strumming, club beats and electro-pop weirdness, and earned Grammy nominations along the way. But when its major-label deal with Interscope ended after “Mosquito,” its members scattered to mature artistically and personally. Melena Ryzik, a New York Times culture reporter, caught up with Yeah Yeah Yeahs — the frontwoman Karen O, the guitarist Nick Zinner and the drummer Brian Chase — before they performed at the Osheaga festival in Montreal in July. Onstage, Melena writes, Karen O is still mesmerizing, geysering liquids and power-posing on monitors, but she has slightly tamed her style. Speaking as someone who has spent a lot of time thinking about her role as a frontwoman, Karen O noted that “disarming is another specialty of what I try to do with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.” “I’m being absolutely ridiculous, quite overtly sexual, totally heart-on-my-sleeve,” she said. “I’m going to steamroll you, and you’re going to like it.” Read the full profile of @yeahyeahyeahs at the link in our bio. Photo by @sandycandykim