CD Reviews

White Denim | D

Downtown Records (2011)

By REYAN ALI | June 7, 2011

2.5 Stars

White Denim's D just won't be ignored. The Austin quartet's fourth studio LP is an album so dense, so unstoppably kinetic, that the flurry of movement makes background listening impossible. Psychedelic rock, garage rock, folk, Afropop — hell, even math rock — all show their shades in this irrepressible, complex concoction. Thickly layered, effervescent guitars spiral off in all directions, drums shimmer and fade within seconds, even the flute on "River To Consider" verges on an explosion of the senses. Although instrumental "At the Farm" is missing James Petralli's sweet-but-not-syrupy vocals, it's D's archetypal track, with classical guitar lines sounding off majestically and the song's pace and focus in constant flux. There are only a couple of docile numbers here, one of which is "Street Joy," pretty much a dead ringer for Neil Young's "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)." Although the enthusiasm and care poured into this record is impressive, it soon grows dull in its own way. The mélange of old sonic idioms doesn't say anything remarkable about their sources or feel particularly original. White Denim sound ready to craft a groundbreaking record — D just isn't it.

WHITE DENIM + STATIC JACKS + MAZES | Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave, Allston | June 24 @ 8pm | $12 | 617.779.0140

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