The White Stripes
Elephant (2003)

review by: Dustin Pangonis
Date: 5/5/03

Countless pop bands have found themselves in the difficult position of following up their first successful album and faltered. The public expects more of the same from the first album, yet wants something different, too. Many bands stray too far from the sound that won them fans and kill off their fanbase, or worse yet, put out a pale imitation of their popular album.

After the success of their third album White Blood Cells, the detroit blues-rock duo the White Stripes find themselves in a simliar position. At the forefront of the retro rock movement with groups like the Strokes and the Hives, they have the full attention of critics and many mainstream rock fans. But unlike most groups, the Stripes have managed to strike that balance between their trademark sound and new ideas.

Many of Elephant's pleasures come from the new elements added to the band's sound. For the first time on a Stripes record, there is bass [or a guitar sounding exactly like a bass], most notably on the lead single "Seven Nation Army". In addition to that, Jack White [vocals/guitar] has some honest to God solos this time around, filling seven minutes on the epic blues rocker "Ball and Biscuit".

But Jack isn't the only one to change. Meg [drums] gets to try her hand at singing an entire song for the first time on "In The Cold, Cold, Night". Meg also sings a little more, accompanied by Jack and guest vocalist Holly Golightly on the album's closer "Well It's True That We Love One Another".

However, the Stripes haven't changed every aspect of their asthetic. From the cover's red, white, and black color scheme down to the lovelorn lyrics, the album expands and improves upon the band's sound without taking it into a radical new direction. The changes present are enough to distinguish the album and make it worthwhile even to non-fans, and in fact it's when the band retreads old territory that the album's weaker moments occur.

While "Fell In Love With A Girl" was a near-perfect two minutes of energy, Elephant's short fiery rockers account for the album's most uninteresting moments. Songs like "Black Math" and "Hypnotize", while decent tunes, just can't stand up next to the rest of the album songs. Standout songs like the Burt Bacharach cover "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" and the ambitious "There's No Home For You Here" and "The Air Near My Fingers" show the band has far much to offer than two and a half minute blasts of distortion.

With Elephant, the White Stripes have done what many bands have tried to do and failed at: follow-up their breakthrough album with just the right amount of innovation on their trademark sound. Of course, looking at the White Stripes first albums, this is nothing new: they've steadily gone from raw blues-punk on their debut to one of the forerunners of the garage rock scene. Elephant finds them at the top of their game and delivering their strongest batch of songs yet, and hints that, at this rate, their next album just might be a classic.