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White Denim are an utterly modern anachronism. Their take on the ‘post-internet’ genre-blurring of Grimes et al applies exclusively to musical modes that were in full force back before the web was even a twinkle in Tim Berners-Lee’s eye. Their sound is like so much of the past all at once, you know they could only be happening right now.
They aren’t so much a prism for their influences as they are a kaleidoscope. Rather than focus, they scatter. So even if you don’t particularly care for any of the bases they touch on (funk, soul, blues, prog, and punk too name but a few) it doesn’t matter. You may not even notice them - the band’s on-stage chemistry melds everything together so seamlessly you can easily forget just how odd they are.
The beautiful ‘Place to Start’, for instance, is such an instant classic that you don’t just fall in love with it, you feel as if you’ve always loved it. Especially when the duelling guitar harmonies in the instrumental break hit, sounding like Thin Lizzy channelling the essence of Motown – unexpected and soothing all at once.
Of course, WD aren’t exactly straightforward song-smiths. Listening to any of their records feels like drifting through a museum wing full of treasures accompanied by an audio guide recorded in a dead language. A lot of the time you have no idea what’s going on, which only heightens the sense of wonder.
Their use of linking passages in place of between-song chatter only adds to this. One minute the riffs of ‘At Night in Dreams’ are looming overhead like lead zeppelins, the next, the rug’s been pulled from under you and an African rhythm has Soweto-shuffled you into the jumble of melody that is ‘Anvil Everything’.
Special mention needs to go to Joshua Block on drums. Whether he’s leading the charge, shifting the landscape or holding it down for his bandmates to explore, his playing is mesmerising. The not-quite- free-form-jazz breakdown that leads into old favourite ‘Shake Shake Shake’ being a prime example. It doesn’t matter if they’re meandering through a musicologist’s wet dream or bludgeoning the crowd with a bit of plain ol’ garage rock, WD’s genius makes sense of it all.
Whilst the seemingly obvious correlation often isn’t there, this flawless set is a great reminder that amazing musicianship is a useful tool for making amazing music.
