The White Stripes could have easily released a disc of uninspired, radio-friendly tracks following the critically acclaimed “White Blood Cells” to cash in on their recent rise to fame. Instead, they continue to challenge themselves as musicians, and the result is “Elephant”: a 14-track musical revolution that, for a band that has been embraced by MTV and alternative rock stations across the country, is surprisingly noncommercial.
Somehow, singer/guitarist Jack White and drummer Meg White managed to mesh their signature sound with plenty of new tweaks to create an album that indeed lives up to the hype it has generated.
On “Black Math” and “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself” Jack White’s guitar spill out of the speakers in a more explosive fashion than ever before. The single “Seven Nation Army” is equally pumped full of adrenaline, with its addictive octave-guitar line transforming from mellow into an all-out jam.
After a loud, heavier-than-typical opening to the disc, a trio of ballad-esque songs slow things down. One of the things that makes this album, and the other three White Stripes discs so enchanting is Jack White’s vague songwriting that seems to lack a central thought, yet resonates with a sort of poignancy all his own. This mysterious and often clever lyrical style fully takes the stage from “In The Cold, Cold, Night,” which is sung by Meg White, to “You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket.”
On one song he moans, “I want her to really know who I am/ And then, and only then will she love me/ well at least that was the plan.” At first listen, many of the songs seem to lack an emotional core, but there is a great amount of heart lurking behind many of the tracks here, albeit smothered in Jack White’s warped poetry.
Despite their tight instrumentation, there doesn’t seem to be a moment of inhibition on this album; the songs feel as though any idea that flowed through this pair of divorcees’ minds is executed to the best of their abilities. Instead of over scrutinizing their songs into rigid sterility, they keep their style of presentation carelessly loose, and it pays off again and again.
The White Stripes aren’t your typical “garage rock” band they’ve got plenty of quirkiness to go around. On the second half of the album, “Little Acorns” begins with a 57-second monologue (that sounds straight out of a ’50s radio show) comparing our troubles to easily carried acorns when broken down.
“Ball and Biscuit” is a bit of a rehash of the sound that popularized the band, and the distorted guitar licks are every bit as blaring as they were on past blues-rock songs. Later, “Hypnotize” and “The Air Near My Fingers” throw more perplexing lyrics at the listener. The album closes with the lines “But there’s just so much/ that I don’t know about you” that seem to reference the band’s enigmatic persona as much as they fit into the song.
After listening to “Elephant” all the way through, one can’t help but question the rumor that it was recorded in only two weeks. How can The White Stripes record something in half a month that no other mainstream rock album this year has come close to touching?
Sure this album may not be for everybody, but more than likely anyone with an eclectic taste for rock will find “Elephant” to be a long awaited feast in a time when rock leaves us hungry for more all too often.
Rating: 4.5 stars