The Go - Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride

Has anyone told The Go that it's not 1967 anymore, and that their new LP, Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride, is on CD as opposed to vinyl? The album comes in a gatefold cardboard case, just like the records of the The Beatles ("You Go Bangin' On" falls squarely into the pop magnificence of mid-career Beatles tracks) and The Rolling Stones (The Go are reinterpreting '60s R&B like the Stones did). The record even takes on a Pet Sounds vibe at times, with harmonizing vocals and slightly psychedelic instrumentation. Listen to "Mary Ann" and tell me Brian Wilson couldn't have rocked that tune.

While these guys keep getting called "Jack White's old band" (he was in the band for all of, what, 6 months?) they set aside the Led Zeppelin power chords and embrace guitar virtuosity with bangers like "Yer Stoned Italian Cowboy". It's still Detroit's unique domestic, factory made, assembly line rock 'n roll, but The Go are lucky to have had Jack White than to have him and still be constrained by his minimalist ideals. Taking post-punk and pop balladry back 40 years, The Go are unique exactly for remaining in the past: The Stones can't hang it up, but The Go can't deny the sound they love. The most riff-rocking track on the album, "Help You Out", builds lightly on the garage sound of The Go's hometown, but more often than not Howl rides a beat that Detroit would have all but forgotten (saved only by classic rock radio) if The Go weren't here to carry the torch.

And the production on this record is as meticulous as Howard Hughes in his later days. Bobby Harlow, lead singer, produced the album with an attention to detail reserved for curators of only the most precious of archival quality artifacts. The way a paleontologist finely cleans a discovered dinosaur bone, Harlow tweaks and tunes every centimeter of tape the band recorded during the Howl sessions. The obsession comes through in the details, all the way through to the tambourine shakes that sneak their way onto the downtempo "She's Prettiest When She Cries".

Album Review: The White Stripes - Icky Thump

On their new album (and major label debut), The White Stripes break a few of their self-imposed rules, such as inviting collaborators and refraining from doing covers or using new/unusual instruments, by inviting guest artists, using trumpets and bagpipes, and recording a cover. The album's title, Icky Thump, is a Lancashire slang term, sort of an exclamation of surprise. The title track itself is indication enough that the band has passed on the guitar-absent Get Behind Me, Satan and returned to riff-rock. Not too surprising, there, but definitely welcome.

"Conquest" is both a cover and a collaborative track featuring a trumpet/guitar duel that blows the pants off dueling guitars or banjos. The "hunted becomes the huntress" table-turning of "Conquest" would almost be in sharp contrast to the sinister trap of "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)". While the latter is brazenly critical of the person who succumbs to an unequal would-be lover, the former paints the would-have-been Don Juan as duped by a clever, foxy female who "led him helpless down the aisle" with her "female guile". Continuing the analysis of personal relationships, "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" can be interpreted in at least one respect as a charming rendition of lovers adopting one another's idiosyncracies.

The fact that major label digs have not pushed this minimalist (formerly) Motor City duo to dump the rust and cracked plastic facade of their three-minute power chord-driven jams in favor of an album full of epic failings is a blessing. While a number of songs break the four-minute mark (and one, "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues", despite its speedy title breaks five minutes), the album's best tracks retain the character of the Stripes' past. If anything, Jack's lyrics have matured, adding a new layer of growth to the craftily deconstructed yet powerful and hooking songwriting.

Following the bagpipes of "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn" is the misstep of "St. Andrew (This Battle In The Air)", a sort of "Revolution No. 9" with vocals by Meg. Quickly regaining footing, Icky Thump proceeds with "Little Cream Soda", the most rock 'n roll track present with the heaviest riffs and pounding drums telling the tale of an overwhelmed and perhaps somewhat tortured soul.

So, by Icky Thump, are we supposed to be surprised that moving over to Warner Brothers enticed the duo to branch out from their red-and-white box and break their own rules a bit? As the closing track, "Effect And Cause", explains: "Well, in every complicated situation/of human relation/making sense of it all takes a whole lot/of concentration". The answer to that question just be more than we can glean from the album alone.

Click the album art to order.

The Go To Release Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride July 24; Hear "Invisible Friends" From The Album

Detroit-based rockers The Go are preparing for the release of Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride. Due in stores July 24th, Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride is the follow up to the The Go’s critically acclaimed 2003 self-titled release, The Go.

Former bandmates of Jack White of White Stripes and Raconteurs fame, The Go have their own pop sensibility, with a more Beatles meet The Beach Boys sound on tracks like "Invisible Friends". This is definitely more indie pop than the Stripes, whom the band has been known to tour with.

See below to get "Invisible Friends" and hear it for yourself.

The Go - "Invisible Friends"

Free MP3: The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"

Coming on June 19, Icky Thump from The White Stripes. Don't let the silly name fool you, this song is riff-tastic, and Jack White has proven once again that he is a guitar-lick machine. If you aren't playing air guitar when you hear this, you've got issues.

**UPDATE 7/22/07 - Dead Link**

Click on the album art to pre-order the album, and get your Stripes at the Patriot Center on July 28.

Exclusive Interview with Jack White of The White Stripes In NME

Yeah, I'm usin' the old-fashioned White Stripes picture. I like the old picture.

In a world wide exclusive in this week's issue of the NME Jack White explains some of the lyrical themes in the new White Stripes' single ICKY THUMP.
In answer to queries about the song's seemingly political content, in particular the lines: "White Americans, what?/ Nothing better to do?/ Why don't you kick yourself out/You're an immigrant too”, Jack explains "I've always been interested in the double-edged sword of being proud of your culture,” elaborates Jack. “It’s a very touchy subject in America. You can’t be too proud or you tip the scale. But at the same time, America is made up of nothing but immigrants. It’s a big melting pot, yet there’s a lot of segregation still to this day. It’s an intricate minefield of a topic.”



You can read more excerpts from his revealing interview at NME's site.

Bloc Party: Jack White Is "Treacherous"

According to Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke, Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs) is a punk when it comes to speaking out on political issues. Okereke states that he was amazed when White "said it wasn't his job to be critical about foreign policy because he was being paid to be an entertainer. I thought that was treacherous because it's complicit with the capitalist society. Selling more records is the only thing that's important to him, not provoking debate." Source: NME

Capitalist society aside, how does Meg White feel? We already know Bob Dylan (who had the Raconteurs open on his recent tour) is hanging his head in shame for poor Jack.




Bloc Party's Weekend in the City releases next Tuesday, February 6.