Review of Elephant, The White Stripes newest

[Reverend Jax]

 

Of all the garage bands, or the The's (The Strokes, The Hives, The Vines, The White Stripes) that took off last year, The White Stripes were the only one I really liked. To me, the Strokes lacked personality, the Hives were over produced, defeating the whole purpose, and the Vines had tons of energy, but little focus for it. But I loved the White Stripes' White Blood Cells (I downloaded their other two albums and loved them too, especially De Stijl). And Elephant is great too. Seven Nation Army, the first single, is the catchiest thing on the radio right now. I've learned the bass line (it's pretty darn simple) and can play it without too much concentration, so I can strike all sorts of goofy rock star poses while playing it.

 

Seven Nation Army isn't a good representation of the rest of the album, which I think should be the primary function of a single. There's alot of exploration with new styles (check out There's No Home For You Here for a slight dabbling in the way of Queen and In The Cold Cold Night to hear Meg on vocals), but it stays pretty grounded in old school White Stripes. Basically, if you liked the old stuff, this stuff is just as good. If you've never heard the White Stripes before, or only heard their songs of the radio, I'd still recommend listening to White Blood Cells first, but this isn't a bad place to start either.