Album Review: The White Stripes - Icky Thump (4/5)

Time to review the latest from The White Stripes. They're the "indie" band that's managed to maintain their cool through a remarkable ascent to fame, peaking with their award-winning fourth album Elephant (2003), that spawned their most notable hit "Seven Nation Army." The band, which had been notable for its austere reliance on just drums, guitar, and vocals (no bass and rarely any other instruments) departed from that minimalism for fifth album Get Behind Me Satan (2005), which featured all sorts of instruments, most notably piano on many tracks. The results were interesting, but a letdown from the cool soul of Elephant, which remains by far my favorite of their albums.

Musically, Icky Thump's closest kin of recent Whites Stripes albums is White Blood Cells (2001), their last release before achieving widespread acclaim. The extra instruments have been shed again, save for a few key guest spots, such as the bagpipes on the Scottish-flavored "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn" and the trumpet on the manic Spanish-themed "Conquest." By and large though, Jack and Meg are back to their loud musical minimalism that has served them well, expressing their desire to experiment this time stylistically rather than instrumentally.

Take "Icky Thump," the fantastic opening track and first single that plays like a '70s progressive rock throwback, moving through segments and transitions of alternating vocal and instrumental sections. The song even dips a little into current national politics: "White Americans, what? Nothing better to do? Why don't you throw yourself out, you're an immigrant too."

The tense insistence of the first track is shed for breezy second track (and second single) "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)." The keyboard's back for this one, but it mostly stays in the back, poking its head out when the rest of the music rests. "300 M.P.H.Torrential Outpour Blues" is one of the songs that most reminds me of White Blood Cells, "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" in particular. It has a similar mellow late-night lounge quality to it, punctuated by mad bursts of Meg's drumming. It's a good song, although it does go on a bit long.

"Conquest" is a wonderful song that I love because it is so over the top goofy, and it's nice to know a band can retain a good sense of humor after having had its reputation so inflated by the critics. Jack doesn't just howl the word Conquest, but manages to stretch it into four syllables "CO-O-ON-QUEST!!" If the last song wears out its welcome, at under 3 minutes, this one leaves before you're ready for it to end.

The band gets down to business on "Bone Broke," which has a harder feel the preceding songs--rough around the edges like a good jam session. You know you're getting classic White Stripes when Jack turns up the feedback and Meg just bangs the crap out of her drums (how many skins must she go through?). On then to "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn," the bagpipe-driven folksy jig that marches through the center of the album. It even gets a high-energy postlude, "St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air)." How great would these be live?

That's actually one of their great strengths, that even with a studio product, the band retains its rough-hewn feel as if they sat down to play and didn't notice that someone with an old tape player hit "record." "Little Cream Soda" opens with a count and a strong extended opening sequence. The charged quality of the instrumental section falls away for the swaggering vocal sections, chanted by Jack, but then pick up again, comprising the bulk of the song. Quirky "Rag and Bone" is another goofy gem, featuring cute banter between Jack and Meg and tight, energetic playing. This is fast, fun stuff.

The last few tracks are good, but not as strong. "I'm slowly Turning Into You" starts as a musical reprieve from the frenetic energy of the last few tracks. Feedback guitar, organ, and slower drumming let the song swagger in like entering some Western saloon. It takes off getting bigger and louder by the end. The real break comes then in dark and forlorn "A Martyr for My Love for You." "Catch Hell Blues" would be almost nondescript, but then it surprises with a fantastic electric guitar riff. "Effect and Cause" closes the album on an upbeat note, but is otherwise not a standout.

While I'm not a White Stripes fanatic, I certainly have an appreciation for them (and I truly do love Elephant). Icky Thump is brash, loud and fun, a great summer rocker.

Best: Icky Thump, You Don't Know What Love Is, Conquest, Rag and Bone, Prickly Thorn But Sweetly Worn, Little Cream Soda