Every time I’ve written about White Denim I’ve wondered aloud why they don’t have a significantly larger audience. It’s been twelve years since they first formed, and I became an immediate fan with their Let’s Talk About It EP (2007), and I think I finally get it. One of the very best live indie bands you can see, they have a lot to offer, including the fonky chooglin’ boogie of fellow Texans ZZ Top or a less heavy Clutch, prog-tinged psychedelic garage madness of cult heroes King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, exploratory jammy stoner blues of All Them Witches, and inscrutable humor and virtuosity of Ween. The fact is that some of the highlights of their catalog were released practically in secret and hard to come by (such as Last Day Of Summer and Takes Place In The Work Place EP from 2010 and 11, and the vinyl only Live At Third Man also from 2011), and they just don’t tour enough to work up to the point where they can command headline spots at festivals. I’m not sure that their shift from the Downtown label to the Berlin based City Slang for Performance is going to help, but so far it seems to have been promoted as well as expected.
With only the duo of singer/guitarist James Petralli and bassist Steven Terebecki remaining as founding members, their seventh album includes more lineup changes, with Michael Hunter as the new keyboardist, and drummer Conrad Choucroun from NRBQ, a long-running band with an eclectic catalog that makes sense as yet another influence on White Denim. Recorded at their newish Radio Milk studio, there is some buzz that Performance sees the band rejuvenated after some kind of slump. That’s hogwash. While the band certainly had certainly toyed with relatively more polished production on Corsicana Lemonade (2013) and parts of Stiff (2016), they never stopped being a wildly creative, unpredictable band. Listening to their entire catalog on endless repeat, there’s not a single track I have the urge to skip. Artistically they have remained at peak powers quite consistently. That said, this album might have just a smidge more moments of loosely chaotic instrumental freakouts than the last couple, and could certainly compete with Fits (2009) and D (2011) as their best work.
“Magazin” might feature a simple walkin’ blues plonk along the lines of White Stripes/The Black Keys, but packed within it are some whimsical psychedelic production effects that gives it a nice glammy sheen. The title track is a terse garage rocker driven by Petralli’s vocal melodies, featuring a great organ solo from Hunter. “Fine Slime” is gloriously full of changes, starting with a choppy guitar riff that hearkens back to their first recordings, then breaks into a dual guitar jam that breaks down into psychedelic chaos. “Double Death” features fabulously funky keyboard, bass and drum syncopation that could fit right in with prime Funkadelic. “Moves On” is another highlight showcasing the band’s blues prog virtuosity within the water tight confines of just under four minutes. “It Might Get Dark” has Petralli conjuring up Marc Bolan’s signature post-Elvis T. Rex vocal style. I might be losing my mind here, and maybe it’s because I just saw ELO a couple weeks ago, but I swear Petralli is a secret fan, as his vocal melodies in the lovely closer “Good News” bring to mind Jeff Lynne’s work circa A New World Record (1976). It’s not the first time I noticed, as “New Blue Feeling” from Corsicana also seemed to give a nod to the popular 70s symphonic prog pop group.
My only complaint is the album’s brevity, at 32 and a half minutes, it feels at least a song short. But this is also yet another one of the band’s key strengths, restraint. Yes, they could jam with the jammiest of bands if they wanted to, but they keep it tight. Petralli has the vocal talent to showboat with the showbiziest of pop crooners (see fan favorite “Street Joy” from D). But he almost never does, and I’m thankful. I’ll take the rocking “Backseat Driver” over a power ballad. Oh who am I kidding, I’d probably love a ballad from White Denim. They just can’t seem to do wrong even if they tried. Perhaps they’ll end up in arenas after all someday, so enjoy them in small clubs while you still can.
