The White Stripes Icky Thump A-

With Icky Thump, Detroit duo The White Stripes release their sixth album and their most enjoyable since number three The White Blood Cells. The Stripes are consist of drummer and occasional vocalist Meg White and her ex-husband—guitarist, song-writer, and lead vocalist Jack White. Kicking off with the title track, Icky Thump serves notice that Jack and Meg are back to doing what they do best—she, study, no-frills banging, and he, searing and heavy blues guitar rock. Throw in an old-school Casio keyboard and signature odd, rhyming lyrics and this is classic White Stripes even as it is a significant step forward with some industrial elements.

This album finds Jack again mining heavy seventies guitar riffs a la Elephant, most notably on stand-outs Little Cream Soda, 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues, and the largely instrumental Catch Hell Blues. They also throw in Mariachi horns on Conquest, a song seemingly recorded for a Tarentino film, and bagpipes on the oddly bland Prickly Shorn but Sweetly Worn, and St. Andrew (This Battle is in the Air).

Still, there aren’t many disappointing moments here. White’s lyrics, clever and underrated, step to the forefront on several cuts including A Martyr for My Love for You and You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As Your Told).

Maybe the most interesting piece of the White Stripes puzzle is the bizarre innocent fun song (or two) they place on nearly every album. The White Blood Cells has We’re Going to be Friends; Elephant, It’s True that We Love One Another; and Icky Thump has the infectious Rag and Bone. Top to bottom, another excellent, idiosyncratic album from the most interesting Rock band working today.
Downloads: Icky Thump, You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do as Your Told), Little Cream Soda, Rag and Bone, A Martyr for My Love for You, Catch Hell Blues.