As the world goes Strokes crazy, we must turn Stateside once again to secure our rock n'roll kicks. This time, though, we bypass New York, looking instead to Detroit from whence hail Meg and Jack White currently the most hyped sibling duo in the musical universe. It seems that, just as with their NYC contemporaries, these Detroit rockers have inspired the spontaneous ejaculation of the entire music industry with their third album.
Just a couple of bars into the electric 'Dead Leaves...' and it becomes clear that this is no ordinary band. The track begins with some heavy, brooding distortion. Moments later the drums kick in. An eloquent but purposeful guitar stride. Then Jack White's gloriously raw, whisky-dipped vocals make their first appearance and you know you're in business. Edgy and raucous but steered with a firm hand, this blues-based rock is soaked in a veritable cocktail of musical influences. The difference being that, unlike with your average derivative rock band, it's not that easy to pin point The White Stripes' main influence - a combination of The Stones, Velvet Underground, The Clash, The Pixies, Led Zeppelin. But to be totally honest, who cares if the finished article sounds as good as this?
'Hotel Yorba', soon to be the first release from the album is a stacatto, rootsy number that shimmers with a rare talent. Impressively, this track is not one of the standouts. 'Fell In Love With A Girl' is quick-fire, high-octane, adrenaline-fuelled brilliance. Expecting carries on from where 'Fell In Love...' left off - it's massive Page-like riffs and Jack's Plant-esque vocals evoking comparisons with the great Led Zeppelin no less. 'The Union Forever' sees Jack adopt a more spiteful edge. His menacing emissions, together with the malicious, rasping guitar intro is reminiscent of The Pixies at their exhilarating best.
Meg and Jack also demonstrate their ability to shift effortlessly in tone. Thankfully, though, the mellow numbers are kept to the bare minimum, as it's the variations upon the Stripes' earthy, foot-stomping beast of a sound that makes the album. 'I Think I Smell A Rat' is almost theatrically vicious while the guitar intro of 'I Can't Wait' is highly reminiscent of Nirvana's 'Rape Me'.
As the album draws to a close, one begins to realise why The Strokes and The White Stripes have sparked a similarly fanatical reaction from the press. While striking different notes, both bands share several things in common.
They are enormously derivative and unashamedly so but they have both fused musical influences with such conviction, brash ebullience and skill as to make 'old' music sound fresh, new and exciting. The raw, stripped down energy of the 'White Blood Cells' slaps you round the face and sends you hurtling backwards to a time when sweat used to drip from the ceilings and bands used to play until their fingers bled. Oh, and one more thing they write fantastic tunes to boot!
by James Salmon