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| The White Stripes have always been about simplicity. For their first three albums, keeping true to this approach had been easy. They were still fairly hidden in a safe place reserved for critically acclaimed indie bands.
But the White Stripes were bound to enjoy some type of broader success sooner or later. That it would be as immense and as widespread as the reception to their third album, "White Blood Cells," was nobody's guess. Detroiters Meg and Jack White looked on almost dizzyingly-amused as the band went through a whirlwind of television appearances, awards shows, countless magazine covers and general hullabaloo.
For their fourth album, the challenge to keep things simple while still pushing forward seemed mighty. Their response is "Elephant." Recorded in a brief two-week stint at Liam Watson's Toe Rag studio in London, with no equipment dating past the epochal year of 1963, the band's fourth album is dedicated to "The Death of the Sweetheart." Elephant stretches seamlessly from extreme polar opposites of the musical spectrum in mere minutes.
Songs like "Seven Nation Army" and the "The Hardest Button to Button" are sinister and powerful, with tones and harmonics so eerie that they might have been written at the Winchester Mystery House. At the same time, songs like "There's No Home for You Here" and "You've Got Her in Your Pocket" enjoy such innocent, pop naiveté that one can't help but wonder if Jack White thinks/dreams in such scattered song styles or if he's laughing at you trying to dissect his every last word. The sincere emotion that is the foundation of the 'feeling' you get listening to the White Stripes' music ties every song together.
This record will be remembered. Everything is laid out for the critics to pick and pull apart. Don't think too deep. Just listen. Turn off the outside world. Elephant will open the doors to a thousand different stories. This is not hype. This is an understatement. Like an elephant never forgets, you will remember "Elephant" forever and soon forget this bio.
"Elephant" will prick ears. "Elephant" will make sense to people who gave up long ago. It will change the way that astronauts conduct space walks on the Hubble Telescope. This is monumental. You can't describe this record. You can listen and see for yourself. |
Austin Wilde
