12

White Denim, one of the very best rock bands to emerge this millennium, have gone through rapid changes in the 2020s, and now open an exciting new chapter with the wondrous album, 12, which arrives rich in hot tunes and fresh invention. It’s always been hard to keep pace with James Petralli’s group, ever since they first exploded out of Austin, Texas in ’08 with hyper-kinetic post-punk bangers like “Shake Shake Shake” and “I Start To Run”. There was delicious romance in the original trio’s MO, as they hatched intrepid sounds together via lengthy jams in a 1940s Spartan trailer parked up in woodland outside the city. James duly raced on through shifting line-ups and kaleidoscopic shades of soul, jazz, and Southern rock, always with a feel of in-the-moment authenticity. As for so many musicians, the pandemic forced Petralli into a radical rethink in both life and creative process. Going into White Denim’s twelfth long-player, he relocated his family to Los Angeles, and, barred from the usual workouts “on the floor” with his latest group members under COVID, he plunged deep into the science of assembling tracks digitally, with contributions from players he’d sometimes never even meet. The results on 12 are intricate, hi-tech, and forward-facing, yet also somehow still of a piece with the questing ambition, rootsy swing, and uplifting way with melody we’ve come to adore about Petralli’s music. Bonus CD – Contains 6 live outtakes from the 12 recording sessions, including the singles ‘Light On’ and ‘Second Dimensions’ along with a cover of Prefab Sprouts classic ‘When Love Breaks Down’.