The White Stripes - 'Icky Thump'

If you can imagine for a moment being lost on a remote highland moor late at night, with no sense of direction and William Wallace breathing down your neck, then you’ve got an imagination as vibrant as ‘Icky Thump.’ Relentless from the outset – from Meg White’s drumbeat of impending doom to Jack White’s impetuous guitar solos – ‘Icky Thump’ welcomes The White Stripes back in their typically big, bold and brash manner. “Well, Americans / What, nothin' better to do? / Why don't you kick yourself out? / You're an immigrant too,” shrieks Jack White, in what could be considered his most obviously political lyrics to date. Whilst Jack questions the world and it’s inhabitants with a new, visceral tone to his voice, The White Stripes, the band, prove that they’re still operating from deep inside their own world – bagpipes n’ all. You can’t beat a bit of imagination.

Released 11/06/07 on XL Records