Detroit-based rock duo the White Stripes’ fourth studio album, “Elephant,” has been set for an April 15 release by the band’s Third Man imprint, in association with V2 Records. “Elephant” is the long-awaited follow-up to the Stripes’ 2001 commercial breakthrough, “White Blood Cells” (Sympathy for the Record Industry), which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and has sold 631,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
That set’s lead single, “Fell in Love With a Girl,” reached No. 12 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart, while its accompanying animated clip won nods for breakthrough video, best special effects in a video, and best editing in a video at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards.
“Elephant” does not stray far from its predecessor’s bare-bones rock attack, rising and falling on Jack White’s classic guitar shredding and the relentless drumming of Meg White. Although cuts such as “There’s No Home for You Here” test out multi-tracked choruses and vintage keyboard accompaniment, “The Hardest Button to Button” and “Seven Nation Army” make fine use of the band’s trademark less-is-more style.
Elsewhere, Meg takes the mic for “In the Cold, Cold Night,” Thee Headcoates’ Holly Golightly adds vocals to closer “It’s True That We Love One Another,” and the Stripes tackle Burt Bacharach on a cover of his “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself.”
In an attempt to combat pre-release Internet leaks, the group has opted not to send out promotional CDs to the media. Instead, 500 double-vinyl copies of “Elephant” were mailed to journalists last week; a spokesperson confirms the album will be available on vinyl to the general public on the date of the CD release.
The group is not expected to begin touring in support of “Elephant” until April, at which point it will visit “major markets” in North America, the spokesperson said. Jack White will also be seen in a small role in the film “Cold Mountain,” which also stars Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, and Renee Zellweger. It arrives Dec. 25 in U.S. theaters.
Here is the tracklist for “Elephant”:
“Seven Nation Army”
“Black Math”
“There’s No Home for You Here”
“I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself”
“In the Cold, Cold Night”
“I Want To Be the Boy”
“You’ve Got Her in Your Pocket”
“Ball and Biscuit”
“The Hardest Button to Button”
“Little Acorns”
“Hypnotize”
“The Air Near My Fingers”
“Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine”
“It’s True That We Love One Another”
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