Since the release of Elephant, The White Stipes have crafted records that foster the sensation of contemporary style, and at the same time pull back the curtains on the music of Old America. Their latest release Icky Thump is, if nothing else, a disjointed collage of old-school Stripes swaggar and exploratory expression.
The album opens with the raucous, shape-shifting title track (which is also the first single), but then settles into some familiar ground with the pop stylings of "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)," which sounds like it could have been a B-side from the two previous albums, the aforementioned Elephant and Get Behind Me, Satan. The Dyaln-esque prose of "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues" strolls along sleekly with it's loud/soft/loud dynamic approach. Then there is the highly ambitous power-flamenco of "Conquest", where Jack White bellows like a sardonic matador about a woman who turns the tables on a heartless Don Juan.
The rest of Icky Thump, however, is hit or miss. While the familiarity of "Rag and Bone" - perhaps Icky Thump's best track - provides a funny kiss-off to societal excess, other tracks like "Bone Broke" just sound generic and languid amoung the more adventerous tracks. But the Catch-22 there is that going out on a limb doesn't always pay off on Icky Thump. "Prickly Thorn, Sweetly Worn" would have fit in perfectly on Led Zeppelin III, but the track quickly segues into "St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)," which, to follow the analogy, is the "Hats Off To Roy (Harper)" of Icky Thump - and it's not even the last track on the album.
Despite the fact that the album as a whole isn't very astounding, Icky Thump is worth the purchase for the six or seven solid tracks that it features; new fans will want to look elsewhere in the catalog. However, Meg White still has the heaviest right foot in rock and roll, and sonically, the Stripes are always impressive. Icky Thump is admirable for what it tries to achieve, but falls flat somewhat in the process.
Rating: B
The album opens with the raucous, shape-shifting title track (which is also the first single), but then settles into some familiar ground with the pop stylings of "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)," which sounds like it could have been a B-side from the two previous albums, the aforementioned Elephant and Get Behind Me, Satan. The Dyaln-esque prose of "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues" strolls along sleekly with it's loud/soft/loud dynamic approach. Then there is the highly ambitous power-flamenco of "Conquest", where Jack White bellows like a sardonic matador about a woman who turns the tables on a heartless Don Juan.
The rest of Icky Thump, however, is hit or miss. While the familiarity of "Rag and Bone" - perhaps Icky Thump's best track - provides a funny kiss-off to societal excess, other tracks like "Bone Broke" just sound generic and languid amoung the more adventerous tracks. But the Catch-22 there is that going out on a limb doesn't always pay off on Icky Thump. "Prickly Thorn, Sweetly Worn" would have fit in perfectly on Led Zeppelin III, but the track quickly segues into "St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)," which, to follow the analogy, is the "Hats Off To Roy (Harper)" of Icky Thump - and it's not even the last track on the album.
Despite the fact that the album as a whole isn't very astounding, Icky Thump is worth the purchase for the six or seven solid tracks that it features; new fans will want to look elsewhere in the catalog. However, Meg White still has the heaviest right foot in rock and roll, and sonically, the Stripes are always impressive. Icky Thump is admirable for what it tries to achieve, but falls flat somewhat in the process.
Rating: B
