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The White Stripes Icky Thump

With their latest release, The White Stripes take their love of traditional musical forms far beyond the reach of their old blues-rock stomping ground.

Following on the heels of acclaimed previous releases Elephant (2003) and Get Behind Me Satan (2005), Icky Thump is peppered with instruments like bagpipes, organs and trumpets. Only for a moment or two — on “Rag And Bone” and the closing tracks “Catch Hell Blues” and “Effect and Cause” — do they stop to address their garage-blues past.

The most radio-friendly song, the cheeky and patronising “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)” is upbeat and humorous. A Bolero-inspired cover of 1950s hit “Conquest” is retreaded here in an arrangement that features mariachi trumpets and toreador posing. “Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn” and “St Andrew (This Battle Is In the Air)” both feature a droning bagpipe, with the latter tune descending into pitch-altered spoken word courtesy of Meg. “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” soaks Jack’s already Robert Plant-like vocals with reverb, making it plainly reminiscent of Led Zeppelin.

One reason Jack and Meg White have been so successful at two-piece rock is that simple but groovy drumming and concise guitar parts just serve to enhance their well-penned songs, rather than crowding them. And even on their studio albums, additional instrumentation is used sparingly.

It’s no surprise that the songs on Icky Thump (which by the way, is a twist on “Ecky Thump”, a Northern England expression of surprise) are all fantastic. The White Stripes haven’t worn out their welcome. The fans get a solid new album, Jack and Meg get some spiffy new costumes to prance around in — and everyone’s happy.