Let’s!

White Denim

Let’s Talk About It

White Denim, Austin’s most blogged about band since Voxtrot, began as a studio project, which explains why the trio’s debut EP spins a cathartic junk pile of rhythms and sounds, each layer turning up gold on repeat listens. Issued on red-and-white vinyl and stamped with a smile that splits the difference between the Rolling Stones and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the 7-inch opens with the title track, coating Big Boys funk with Stooges punk until it warps into a medley of electronic bleeps and bongo. The punch-drunk “Darksided Computer Mouth” compiles Jackson 5 soul and rapturous rock & roll, pausing momentarily to casually inquire, “Come here, you wanna sing?” “I Can Tell” kick-starts the flip side into a similar fever, with sloppy Mule-esque guitar chops and street percussion broken up by a sitar bridge that drips psychedelics. Chaotic technological disarray defines closer “Mess Your Hair Up,” a techno-infused garage-rock gem. Digital bonus “DCWYW” offers one last kick in the pants, a Minutemen-esque 46 seconds of caterwauling guitars, indecipherable screams, and bottom-end clutter. Believe the hype.

***.5

This article appears in August 31 • 2007.

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