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 WHITE
STRIPES- White Blood Cells (Sympathy
Records) Band
Site. After careful deliberation, I’ve come to the conclusion that
the first four songs on this disc really kick ass. At first, only
"Hotel Yorba," an instantly likeable stomper, seemed like
something special, but after repeated listenings, the other three join it
to make it my favorite opening quartet of songs on an album put out this
year. White Blood Cells, the third full-length release from this alleged
brother and sister team, leads off with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty
Ground," a solid number filled with meaty guitar and repeating
end-of-stanza lines that are a joy to sing along with. Next up is the
aforementioned nugget "Hotel Yorba," and that’s followed by
the hard-hitting "I’m finding it harder to be a gentleman,"
which contains some of the best lyrics on the CD. It’s about a guy who
is happy with his girl but is becoming tired of making as much effort as
he used to. Sample verse: "Well I’m finding it hard to say/That I
need you twenty times a day/I feel comfortable so baby why don’t you
feel the same?/Have a doctor come visit us/And tell us which one is
sane." Next song is "Fell in Love with a Girl," a noisy
rocker that features Jack White’s awesome guitar and infectious voice.
Play it loud; you won’t regret it. The rest of White Blood Cells isn’t
as strong as it’s beginning, but songs like "Little Room" (nothin’
but 50 seconds of Meg White’s primo simplified drummin’ and Jack’s
one-of-a-kind whine) and "We’re Going to be Friends" (acoustic
charmer about childhood) make it a good idea to keep listening. This album
doesn’t contain an absolutely perfect song the likes of "You’re
Pretty Good Looking" from their 2000 release DE Stijl, and it
doesn’t have the stripped down raw power of their eponymous debut from
the year before, but it’s still definitely worth picking up. –Ben
Hunter
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