White Denim – Fits – Album Review
In large part, the entries in this year’s “best of the year” contest are going to ride the crests in similar crafts. The benchmarks for 2009 greatness are probably going to plot themselves on a tricky axis. It is a travesty to reward bands solely on hipness factor and buzz alone, and it’s equally as disheartening to lavish praise on musicians just because they can play their instrument. I realize this stance is arguable, but a band’s value is a meshing together of several distinct areas and things click if everything’s present, much like sandwich quality alone cannot possibly summate the excellent lunch you just ate. To bluntly express this philosophy, a good band has chops, makes excellent music that appeals to an audience, and lastly, sells itself because of its narrowly unique niche. White Denim’s newest effort, Fits, both steps on and scribbles out footprints on each of these standards. If you’re familiar with 2008’s Exposion, and 2007’s EP Let’s Talk About It, then what you’ll unearth in the new record is a mature and more tightly arranged arsenal of sound full of angular shifts and purposeful jazzy acid-inspired rock n’ roll. It doesn’t stray too far from their established pastiche but transcends outward enough to be outstanding and defining for the band.
It’s conceivable that Petralli and crew faced a tough task following up the brutally unique sound Exposion brought to the table, and in their toil have culled all necessary elements together with musical growth in Fits. Musically, treble gets turned down and a more sludgy and earthy late 60’s and early 70’s aura unfolds. Reverb and feedback were omnipresent in the former release but sustain more raunch and gutteral power in the latter. By the album’s second track, “All Consolation,” it’s roundly apparent that the cohesiveness, or sometimes purposeful lack thereof, has more delicate boundaries and is more fleshed out and defined. Pinched out guitar efects, ripping basslines and a healthy dose of cowbell open this album up immediately. The trio belts out lyrics in epic unison, and even through the inevitable White Denim spirals and shifts, a busy mix of stomp and rock is purged from its core. “Say What You Want” plunges similarly into these arenas, with huge feedback and a backbreaking riff that transcends the tinny and trebly guitar in most of Exposion’s less jazz-inspired numbers. Quite simply put, I beg the naysayers of this record to play “Shake Shake Shake” from Exposion and see if it holds a candle to the instrumentation and maturity of any of the first four tracks on this record.
The transformation into a more sonorous and full-bodied sound is achieved by reaching deep into past influences and allowing the obvious jazz talent work double-dutch with gritty and soulful underpinning. Fit swings hard and swiftly for the fences in each track, and the trio incorporates all of their training and influences into one balls-out package. Steve Terebecki’s moody bass riffs, Josh Block’s frenetic and jazz-laced percussion brilliance, and Petralli’s less spastic and more blues driven guitar solo fills all meld together into tangible and accessible ouevres. “El Hard Attack Dcwyw” is in Spanish, lyrically, I think, but the grimy sound makes me not give a shit. Screeching feedback and low bass tones rip this one through your speakers. The aptly titled, “Sex Prayer” is the definitive marker of White Denim’s growth, or at the least, it’s the bands unveiling of talent and referent knowledge that they’ve always had. Jimmy Smith is probably sitting upright in his casket right now, as the Hammond organ is excellently worked and blended into a trippy and burning psychedelic track. Ambient nods to the Doors are obvious, but this reference dummies down the overall vibe of the song. The wood blocks, and beautifully arranged bass accompaniment signifies that White Denim can wear multiple outfits. They’re this good at what they do. If I screamed out “Play some Zappa!” at a show, they’d likely bust into “Yellow Snow” without hesitation. When juxtaposed with the aura of the other tracks, “Sex Prayer” is the standout that proclaims that the shifting opuses are on purpose and if they wanted to, they could be the next great jam-band. Sincerity is a virtue and it’s a nod to the band’s chops.
The greasy aggressiveness of the previous albums is still present, but there’s also a growth exhibited in vocal arrangement. If “Sex Prayer” is the marker of musical ability, “Regina Holding Hands” is the vocal candy bar of the album. The double harmonies of Terebecki and Petralli never fail to intrigue me, as I’m not certain how they can hit the levels of intensity they do while playing such complex music behind it all. This ain’t Green Day and three power chord ditties here, but at the other end of the spectrum, small orchestral movements may be less challenging, too. The jazz is all over the record, namely in Block’s drumming. Where it all joins together, however, is in the maturity that splatters the record vocally. The previously mentioned track is a more acoustic slow-burner with electric surges throughout, and the turned down volume allows the band to harmonize and put their voices on display. In addition, tracks like “Radio Milk How Can You Stand It,” and “Everybody Somebody” reach to the sky vocally, and Petralli is certainly more focused. I hear Hendrix here more than I hear Morrison, and the retro blues soloing he pairs with it only intensifies the reference.
The last major portion of review is how White Denim has carved their own particular niche in the indie-rock world. In my introduction I mentioned that music appeals to an audience and sells itself based on merit. Some of my colleagues disagree with the importance of the intended audience in the artistic equation, but arguably, great art also must be exhibited somehow, and the band has, possibly accidentally, created a mystique and outward appearance of inaccessibility that has been a boon to their success. The album, at the current moment, is only available by ordering in the UK, and I had similar issues trying to figure out where to buy Exposion last year. They play in basements, are unclear with show and tour dates, and all this has done is carve themselves a niche. It’s obvious that their musical sound is unmatched currently in the indie world, but they’ve also done a bang-up job of NOT marketing themselves too much. They’ve left that up to the masses which is certainly a solid way to approach artistic “sales” in a structure that undoubtedly begs for public relations. To quantify this notion, The Mona Lisa, in and of itself, is beautiful partly because of the people that go and see it annually. DaVinci’s intent is, in nutshell, of greatest importance, but the buzz created by the art is unavoidably part of the package.
You can pick up an order of Fits HERE and even if you’re not familiar with White Denim’s previous work, you’ll leave with a full stomach. Also, enjoy “I Start to Run” and “Mirrored and Reverse” from the album. I’d also be up for some debate on this whol art / audience issue.
White Denim – Mirrored and Reverse
July 15th, 2009 at 4:18 PM
As soon as you take the tape out of the garage and put it in somebody else’s hands, you’ve sold out. I’m with the folks who create something beautiful and then destroy it before it has a chance to be polluted by the world. Conceiving any art with a market in mind seems to be about as far away as you can get from the legitimate impulse to create; at that point it becomes simply commerce and is fucking depressing.
Lastly, the Mona Lisa would be infinitely more beautiful if nobody ever saw it, if it only existed as an ideal in our imaginations. I’d even go so far as to argue that the number of people that stare at it gape-mouthed deflate its quality. Like the dude who looks at a Rothko and says, “that ain’t art, I could do that,” folks who gaze at things that are accepted masterworks could be prone to devaluing it. See: coffee mugs with that broad’s grille emblazoned upon them.
So, I’m in the other camp on this one.