Icky Thump

The White Stripes rush to aid

Do you remember the events of a recurrent rock music revolution that took place in the very dawn of a current century? When The Strokes – The Stripes formation has literally breathed vital strengths into forever withering rock’n’roll. The things began to take off at once, the charts have gradually grown flooded with "The" bands and dirty garage sound became any album's guarantee of success. However, unlike the preceding and by the way more powerful burst of post-grange "revolution" this stage didn't last that long. Two, maybe three years after and the aforementioned "vital strengths" begin to decline. And despite that fact that young bands contrive to sell hundreds of thousands of LoFi albums up to the present moment, it all doesn't seem to be as inspiring as before. But don't get desperate; everything's not that bad. Thank God the heroes of mass mania The White Stripes are still full of creative energy. They always were something bigger than just dirty guitars and trashcan drums and always had strengths to reinvent simple truths of rock music, presenting them in the freshest state. Even their recent album Get Behind Me Satan, which looked a little dull in comparison with their former works, sounded like a thunder among other releases of 2005. In a word, the clear way to mainstream is guaranteed for garage rock while there are The White Stripes. So greet them, The White Stripes are here to help rock'n'roll again with their new album Icky Thump.

The White Stripes are coming back to their early sound

The White Stripes' new album Icky Thump was recorded over a period of three weeks in Nashville's Blackbird Studio and marks the duo's return to their famous bold blues-rock sonic anomaly. Jack White stated that the alum will appeal to fans of the band's self-titled debut, suggesting a stripped down hard rock sound. This claim sounds fair in many respects. Most of the songs are purely guitar-driven rock pieces with an obvious flavor of Led Zeppelin's hard bluesy mood. The first track and the album's main single Icky Thump may serve as good evidence for that. Loosing no time Jack and Meg deliver a flow of gnashing guitars, chugging drums and sarcastic vocal melody, which leads the duo's characteristic stomping simplicity to perfection. It all sounds both weird and extremely interesting – as if Robert Plant and Jimmy Page have gone slightly mad. The same old school vein can be heard on Catch Hell Blues or 300MPH Torrential Outpour Blues, the latter is a calmer song, which reminds acoustic blues songs of the same very Led Zeppelin. However, you shouldn't think that every track of Icky Thump is a tribute to this legendary band. A song called Conquest, for example, changes the direction quite sharply and offers something in the vein of Mexican folk songs. It is the most unusual track and somehow it serves as the main counterbalance to the outright adoptions of a classic rock legacy.

The White Stripe's most eccentric record

Another top tracks are definitely the album's closer Effect And Cause and Rag And Bone. Rag And Bone is probably the most essential track of the album as it combines all the musical elements of Icky Thump. Mexican mariachi and Celtic folk are moving hand in hand throughout the track whose basis lies on the blues rock riffs. This song, by the way, features a cute dialogue between Jack and Meg. However, even despite such unusual stylistic mixtures all the tracks are performed quite simple and overall The White Stripes sound in their traditional vein. It is hard to say though that The White Stripes are going back to their more primitive artistry of early days. It is not as raw and ragged as some of the previous works. The good part about the Icky Thump lies in that fact that despite being deeply inspired with Led Zeppelin and old hard rock it never looses a sense of novelty. It has plenty of brilliant musicianship, intriguing sonic twists and a very specific sense of the past and the present amalgamation. Icky Thump is the most peculiar record of the band to date; it joins the essential elements of The White Stripes with their recent attempt to embrace new musical territories. And if Get Behind Me Satan could seem like a mark of the duo's career decline, Icky Thump moves The White Stripes off from their swansong as far as possible. They have plenty of good ideas indeed, and they still don't mind saving rock'n'roll.