White Stripes

The third proper White Stripes LP catches Jack and Meg at their finest -- not yet bored with the simple alchemy that brought them international acclaim, but mature enough to make the most of it. Starting with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," the record opens with five of Jack White's most fully conceived tunes, the best being the seductive "I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman." Aside from the downright ungentlemanly snarl of "I Think I Smell a Rat," there's hardly a miss.

The White Stripes play gothic garage punk strictly by all the best and baddest rules.
Detroit's Jack and Meg White, allegedly brother and sister, look like they haven't been out
of their apartment in six years, and like the Ramones, they named themselves after their
band (or vice versa). Best of all, they fuse inescapable, eerily eternal melodies with
dirty-ass, brain-scrambling riffs that recall both the Kinks and the Melvins. On tun... More >