| Apr. 12, 2008 | 4:16 pm |
Needs more crazy: White Denim at the Metro
By
“Kinetic” is one of those words that music critics have kind of killed. Once upon a time, it probably struck some kid as genius to steal a term he had learned in physics class and apply it to some “hip-shaking” band he was writing about in the school paper. Years later, though, the word’s been thrown at virtually any kind of music that has a pulse. So it’s too bad that when a genuinely kinetic-sounding band shows up, I feel dirty telling the truth, but here it goes: White Denim, the Austin three-piece that opened for Tapes ‘N Tapes at the Metro last night, records music that’s really, awesomely kinetic.
The basic facts about White Denim don’t communicate that. They’re garage-rock. Bluesy. Definite Jimi Hendrix knockoffs. But the Let’s Talk About It EP (like most blog darlings, they’ve yet to release a proper album) crackles with more: breakneck rhythm changes, a million musical reference points — ’70s punk, industrial, disco, whatever — and, most importantly, perfectly destructive production. The drums sit right on top in two senses: They’re louder than anything else, and they open the EP with a booming, pulse-heightening rhythm. Fittingly, the songs are kinetic in two senses too. Each track is a work of escalating mayhem — every chorus, verse, suite and chord change propelled by the energy of the music’s last breathless shift. They’re also, yup, “hip-shaking” — plus, “toe-tapping,” “head-banging” and “sing-alongable.”
The problem: Since White Denim’s recorded music relies so much on production to keep it explosive, there’s a lot to potentially lose when the band brings their songs to the stage. Listening to White Denim’s mp3s, I’d imagined the music was made by a trio of drooling, wild-eyed noisemakers whose live shtick would fuse Hendrix and Mick Jagger: They’d be cracked-out gyrators alternately gnashing at their guitar strings and lighting them on fire. What the Metro got on Saturday night, though, was probably what I should have expected: a hard-rocking, hard-working indie-rock trio. Which is to say, they played their music really well, but didn’t go crazy.
That’s fine, except that it revealed their songs to be not quite as magical as originally thought. Certain tracks lost the in-studio quirks that, I now realize, make them so lovable: the two-note steam-whistle in “I Can Tell,” the ridiculously huge percussion on “Let’s Talk About It,” the crowded-room chatter of “Darksided Computer Mouth.” Some bands make up for the technological firepower lost when leaving the studio by turning up the charisma, the amp volumes and the creativity. White Denim made an attempt at all that (they worked up a sweat! broke drumsticks!) and seriously did deliver a rocking performance. They just couldn’t — or maybe didn’t want to for this particular show, full of people to see the Tapes N’ Tapes too-respectable jangling — summon the demons that seem to haunt their studio recordings. A little more drool and a lot more motion would have gone a long way.
Charlie Hoarse said,
April 13, 2008 @ 10:31 am
I have a few problems with this ‘review’. first of all, when a band creates an album whether in a $5,000 a day studio in Manhattan or in White Denim’s case….a 1940’s trailer for $0.00, ultimetely - there will be extra bells and whistles added to songs. when you marry yourself to the “MP3’s” - then of course you’ll expect that to be 100% replicated from the recorded material. a very slim number of bands can pull off their recorded material during their live show and most of the time those ’said’ bands are huge with gigantic tour budgets and side players to add those fourishes. White Denim are a Rock N Roll band, period. Rock N Roll has always been about the raw energy. Remember The Stooges? In-your-face sonic explosions of raw power. No farfisas, no sitars, no bullshit. straight ahead rock. In my opinion, White Denim falls into that same catagory. Yeah, you may hear a beefier and well rounded ‘recording’ replicated on stage….but thats the beauty of it…Live - you get the stripped down side of them. nuff said.
my problem #2? the fact that you’re judging their music based on an “MP3″. MP3? come on man. Rock N Roll isnt suppose to be listened too on a computer or iPod. Rock N Roll music is to be judged based on cranking your Hi-Fi home stereo to its limit. thats how you listen. thats the problem with today’s music consumption. it’s consumed on tiny computer speakers and iPod earbuds. Music is and always has been an ‘Experience’….so next time you decide to rip a band to shreds, go ‘experience’ their music properly first - then go write about it.
Spencer said,
April 13, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
Hey, appreciate the reply. A few things…
1. If White Denim had a problem with people listening to their music in MP3 format, they probably wouldn’t have inked a deal with RCRD LBL (http://rcrdlbl.com/) to release their latest EP as a series of downloads. Probably the least rock n’ roll thing I can think of is someone telling someone else there’s a “right” way and a “wrong” way to listen to rock n’ roll. It’s not like you can’t blast digital music on your home speaker system anyway.
2. I didn’t quite mean this post to come off as “ripping a band to shreds” — as I wrote, I think their recorded music is awesome, and I think they did a good, high-energy job pulling it off live. All I’m saying is that with a band music this cool, I’d expected their live show to rock even more.
3. I’m not complaining that they couldn’t replicate the studio bells n’ whistles, I’m just pointing out — like you — that certain bands can make you completely forget about those bells n’ whistles when they’re performing by virtue of their awesome performance. White Denim didn’t quite do that for me. Might have been just at this particular show. Who knows. They’re still a good band. They might be in the same category as the Stooges, but they certainly aren’t yet at the same level.
Charlie Hoarse said,
April 14, 2008 @ 9:55 am
1. “Probably the least rock n’ roll thing I can think of is someone telling someone else there’s a “right” way and a “wrong” way to listen to rock n’ roll. It’s not like you can’t blast digital music on your home speaker system anyway.”
- case in point; if you have mp3’s to listen too, burn it down to CD and then place it in your home stereo system. that was my point. simply clicking a link or downloading a song to be dragged into your iTunes for listening just doesn’t cut the mustard. this is exactly why record stores are closing. because people have dumbed down their music listening experience.
2. “They might be in the same category as the Stooges, but they certainly aren’t yet at the same level.”
- my point simply was; that they’re a raw and vicious rock n roll band. of course they aren’t at the same level as the Stooges…same to be said that Jack White isn’t at the same level as Jimmy Page….but the press loves to make him the saviour of rock music in the new millineum. no comparison whatsoever.
Ryan Gallagher said,
April 14, 2008 @ 10:48 am
There are plenty of places to download music that encode tracks at CD quality audio (320 Kbps). iTunes songs are encoded at 128 Kbps or 192 Kbps. That said, most people don’t have speakers in which you could tell the difference. No, I’m not just talking about the speakers on your computer. Even in most home systems, very few people would be able tell any difference. Not everyone is an audiophile. Just because people had the quality recordings in the past, doesn’t necessarily mean they used them “properly” either. Vinyl is basically dead in the consumer market and that was - and still is - the best way to record and playback audio in term of sound quality. However, not too many people are complaining about its death these days. The same thing will happen with CDs.