White Stripes review

I never understand why, when musicians spend a small amount of time creating an album, that their record labels advertise this fact. This kind of tidbit leaves the album ripe for criticism, especially if it doesn’t hold up to the musician’s past efforts (the typical review contains something like “This sounds like it was made in two weeks”). One album, Daft Punk’s Human After All, has already succumbed to this, and it was possible that the White Stripes’ new album, Get Behind Me Satan, would follow suit. Thankfully, this is not the case.

With every new White Stripes album, Jack and Meg take in even more musical influences and genre styles and apply their rules of lo-fi recording and straightforward songwriting, to craft a collection of songs that are throwbacks to the music of yesteryear, yet are strikingly original. With Get Behind Me Satan, the Stripes have concocted yet another stellar list of immediate and engaging music.

Don’t let the lead single “Blue Orchid” fool you. This album doesn’t rock as much as Elephant, the duo’s 2003 release that made the top of numerous Best Of lists. In fact, with the exception of two tracks (“Blue Orchid” and the Elephant throwback “Instinct Blues”), there’s nary an electric guitar to be found. Instead, Jack White ops for pounding pianos, marimbas, and bongos, among other unique forms of instrumentation. The strangest example comes in the form of “The Nurse,” which immediately follows “Blue Orchid” (there’s hardly any pauses between tracks, giving listeners barely any time to catch their breath). “The Nurse” contains the aforementioned marimbas as well as stuttering drumbeats that seem to go against the rhythm of the song entirely, making for a bizarre and, ultimately fascinating track.

Still, the best moments on Get Behind Me Satan are the most immediate and accessible ones, like “My Doorbell,” which grabs the listener and forces him (or her) to start pounding the nearest tabletop, pantomiming Jack’s forceful piano. Experience similar phenomenon while listening to “The Denial Twist,” which boasts not only the funniest track name, but some clever lyrics as well (“So now you’re mad, denying the truth/And it’s getting in the wisdom in the back of your tooth”). Once again, Jack White wears his inspirations on his sleeve as the piano returns for a finale on the Elton John-inspired “I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet),” but not before he performs “As Ugly As I Seem,” an acoustic guitar ballad that wouldn’t feel out of place on the White Album.

The White Stripes continue to excel in crafting albums that are immediately enjoyable to the first-time listener, and yet, continue to build upon themselves with each and every push of the Play button.