Thanks to 2002, my faith in new bands making interesting and arresting rock music dwindled down to oh, about, 1/100th of what it once was. In the beginning of the year, I had Creed, Nickelback and Linkin Park crammed down my throat. Then, from about spring onwards, the key words were “garage rock,” with the so-called revolution being fronted by The Strokes, a New York band who were about as retro and bland as one could get; ok, so they weren’t THAT terrible, but the amount of hype bestowed upon them was insane. Then came The Hives, a band with plenty of charisma and no talent to capitalize it on. And then there was The Vines, a band I’ve ranted and b*tched about so much on this site, that if you don’t know about my anti-Vines stance by now, you either haven’t been here very long or have failed to pay any attention whatsoever.

Of course, the only saving grace for the so-called “garage rock revival” was The White Stripes. They played with an energy, a conviction, and a mad scientist type of vibe that was just so cool, so transcendent of everything else being played on the radio in the past 18 months. It was retro, but it was cool retro, meaning it sounded like something out of the 60s without being a complete ripoff of something out of that era.

So it comes as no real surprise that the band’s new album, Elephant, released today, is at once more of the same, with an expansion on the band’s two member sound, with singer/guitarist Jack White adding bass to some tunes, meaning they sound more fleshed out than they did on their breakout, White Blood Cells.

The biggest standout for me is by far Ball and Biscuit, a superior 7 minute plus epic that manages not only to sound balls out bluesy, but some of Jack’s soloing is a direct reference to Jimmy Page’s feedback drenched solos from his Led Zeppelin glory years. Even more impressive is that over the course of the seven minute song, it never really meanders into being boring or uninteresting.

The aforementioned bass playing is front and center on the first single, Seven Nation Army, which sounds almost seductive and sensuous, at least until you hit the chorus and the cranking chords let you know that the White Stripes new album isn’t ALL that different from their last, in terms of finding something that works and using it to your advantage.

The band cranks through sped up rockers like Black Math with ease and perfection. And to be quite honest, Meg White sounds like twice the jazz siren that Norah Jones does on her lead vocal job for In the Cold Cold Night.

Another favorite of mine is I Want to Be the Boy, a simple blues ballad that works so well thanks to Jack's plaintive voice and the restrained musical feeling the duo give the song.

And then there’s Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine, 3 minutes and 15 seconds of blistering swagger that should make anyone from Mick Jagger to the lead singer from the Hives jealous.

For an album that was made on recording equipment older than the Beatles, for an album that was made in only two weeks, The White Stripes Elephant stands as rock’s possible savior, a record full of songs that are emotional, powerful, and most importantly, songs that rock hard when they need to, and mellow out when they need to. This is truly an album of refreshing beauty and honesty, and an album that sounds raw and simple. It is truly everything great records were 30 years ago, except this one was just put out. How lucky we are for that.

More White Stripes by me:
White Blood Cells



Recommended: Yes