Yesterday local
rock heroes White Denim released their fourth studio album.
It’s entitled D, the fourth letter of the alphabet.
Get it? I’ve only had a day to absorb it, so I’m not ready
to declare it the greatest White Denim record ever. However,
I’m positive long time fans will not be disappointed and the
band will probably even win a number of new devotees with
the versatility that's on display in D.
The main knock against White Denim seems to be that their
albums fail to capture the manic madness and spontaneous
eruptions of their live shows. Of course, that criticism
assumes the band is trying to replicate the concert
experience. I've never really thought that was their goal.
At its core the band is about exploration and
experimentation, and they use their studio time wisely to
craft stuff that's sonically interesting. D
continues their evolution while retaining the sound they're
most famous for: hyper garage rock with a psychedelic twist.
It’s a dense record that ranges from frenetic and fidgety to
soft and melodic ... or even all of those things at once.
At The Farm is a great example of the sharp turns the
band likes to take. It begins with a 70’s soft rock groove
before switching gears to jam band dueling guitars. That
honestly sounds like it should be a train wreck, and yet
somehow it works for them. I think that's partly
because of the recent addition of Austin Jenkins as the
second guitarist. I’ve seen him perform with the band a few
times now and he’s a marvel to watch. His presence is also
apparent on Anvil Everything, which kicks off with
fancy guitar fingerings and sweet melodies before taking a
spacey turn into more psychedelic rock.
All four White Denim albums have lacked a uniform sound, and
while that may seem like a bad thing, it’s actually their
biggest strength and what makes whatever they record worthy
of repeat listens.
:White
Denim - Anvil Everything:
:White
Denim - At The Farm:
:White
Denim - Jay Time (Hard Stuff Cover):
- Dan Corbin -
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
Creative Commons License.
