The White Stripes Album - Icky Thump (2007)

When I found out that The White Stripes was only a rock duo with drums and a guitar, I was dumbfounded. The album Icky Thump begins with a bang–a powerhouse beginning– with satirical view of immigrants on the title track followed by another powerful song (You Don’t Know What Love is.”). The record has a little bit of everything: hard rock, blues, bagpipes and songs with a Latin feel. Some have judged this as an unfocused album, while others praised the band for their bold experimentation as a rock duo.

While the lyrics are not earth-shattering or always incredibly moving, the variety of music keeps the album fresh. Within the record I felt like I was being taken back to a time with a feel similar to Led Zeppelin, and then taken to Scotland for two songs with the bagpipes. Overall, despite the disunity of the album because of the variety of songs, the album is fun to listen to.

I would not recommend buying it, however, if you do not like a variety of musical styles and are comfortable with something very different.

I would give this record four out of five stars.