Listen to a handful of Karen O songs — whether on her own or with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — and you’ll swear you seemingly know everything about her.
Famous both for her flamboyant onstage persona and her penchant for baring her soul through intimate and uninhibited lyrics, she’s elevated herself from the dank clubs of Manhattan’s Lower East Side to become the epitome of a rock star in every sense.
But while she’s almost personifying a self-created character when she’s a flurry of flailing limbs with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O — known in real life as 35 year-old Karen Orzolek — has also cultivated a solo career that’s seen her contribute a broader swath of material to soundtracks for 2009′s ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ 2011′s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ and last year’s ‘Her’ — which also brought her an unexpected Oscar nomination. With the release of her first solo album, ‘Crush Songs,’ which is made up entirely of lo-fi bedroom recordings she made when she was 27, the singer-songwriter makes it clear that she’s an open book — if you know the right places to look.
Tim Karan 