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Nov 02, 2008 White Denim By Nate Daly

Austin, Texas, trio White Denim has a minor identity complex. Caterwauling, slash and dash swing one moment (“IEIEI”); flailing funk rock grabs at MC5 the next (“All You Really Have to Do”). The one constant throughout the album is a reckless energy and a nicely stripped-down sound—busy, but certainly not ostentatious. The clear-cut self-production also lends to the appeal while still sounding accomplished.

“Don’t Look that Way at It” utilizes a guitar loop to transform a fairly straightforward groove into the perfect counterpoint to the manic howling and floor-tom pounding of the chorus. “Transparency” is an infectiously bouncy pop song with the trebly guitar cutting through the grunting bass with precision. White Denim pounds out an excellent frat rock throwback on “Shake Shake Shake.”

A few missteps prevent this from being a really good album, however. “All You Really Have to Do” comes off as bad bar rock and the saxophone dismantles the already shaky closer, “Sitting.” Still, White Denim’s debut LP shows some promise—this is a band to watch. (www.whitedenimmusic.com)

Author rating: 5/10