The White Stripes Strike Again (But not like Casey)

So The Whites Stripes have released the 8th or 9th "long awaited follow-up" album this year, Icky Thump. I can't tell you yet whether its thumpin' or just plain icky because I've only made it five tracks in, which is about as many songs fit on the car ride from the store to my job. So far, thump away Mr. White! The White Stripes are easily the weirdest act to hit the Billboard Top Ten this decade, so it's easy to see them as a fluke act. But they didn't seem so flukey back in '02, when it seemed that The Strokes might actually revolutionize this thing. What happened instead was that the garage rock movement of the early years of decade was just the beginning of what has been a decade long nostalgia trip. Indie rock (with mainstream rock trailing six months behind) has subsequently moved through the decades. Southern Rock, New Wave, Stadium Rock, Giganto-U2 Rock, they've all recieved their share of play. And now even 90s staples like rave music, Brit pop and sludge metal are getting new spins. I don't think the radio could keep up, which is why Nickelback is still on display at a Wal-Mart near you. I think the reason the White Stripes still get attention is because unlike the rest of the nostalgia set, they managed to spin something new out of the past.

Icky Thump has been labelled a "return to roots" album. But every album that follows a band's mid-tempo mellow album is labelled a "back to basics" album (look for that description the next time Wilco releases an album). Icky Thump (or at least the first five songs) actually feels like a complete 180 from Get Behind Me Satan (except for maybe Blue Orchid), but it doesn't feel like too much of a turnaround, in part because you never know where the Stripes are gonna take you with each song, but moreso because the Raconteurs pit stop into mid-tempo riff rock lends a natural Satan-Thump progression.

On their first three albums, the Stripes sounded like they were improvising on the spot. Elephant was an absolutely necessary turn into a more structured sound. Any more albums of 15 plus loose two minute pop truffles would've gone stale. The new sound is a bit of a return to the more playful sound. but it's all filtered through the most production the Stripes have ever had. The album sounds great. It's obvious that the family White has learned more than a thing or two about analog tape over the last couple years. It's hard to notice though because of the music's thunder. The Stripes have basically made their metal album. And that's about as good a combination as anyone has thought of in the last ten years.