The White Stripes Icky Thump 180g 2LP

With its title an Americanization of the Northern British phrase "ecky thump" and its cover featuring Jack and Meg bedecked as a Pearly King and Queen, 2007's Icky Thump is a centered, powerful statement as the final studio album from the duo.

Recorded in the lush environs of Nashville's Blackbird Studios, the trumpet, bagpipes and 1940's synthesizer all feel appropriate here, driving home the idea that the White Stripes were consistent through whatever disparate elements they chose.

Icky Thump was nominated for four 2007 Grammy Awards and took home the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Icky Thump is just plain heavy, dominated by primal, stomping rock that feels like it's been caged for a very long time and is just now being released. Jack White's guitars are back in a big way; 'Catch Hell Blues' is a particularly fine showcase for his playing. Once again, though, the Stripes defy expectations, and their 'return to rock' isn't necessarily a return to the kind of rock they mastered on Elephant... With its fuller sound and relaxed flights of fancy, Icky Thump is a mature, but far from stodgy, album - and, as is usually the case, it's just great fun to hear the band play.