White Denim
Corsicana Lemonade
Downtown Music [2013]
Fire Note Says: White Denim pours a tall cool glass of their blend of classic guitar rock.
Album Review: White Denim, the Austin TX four piece, comes blasting out of the gate on their new album Corsicana Lemonade. These guys are all over the map when it comes to influences, you’ve got some blues, some psych, some funk, a little soul, and a whole lot of rock all thrown into the mix. The results can be as thrilling as they are frustrating. These guys do everything well, but they never really kill it completely with any one style, it’s the old “Jack of all Trades, Master of None” scenario, played out on record. That’s not to say these guys aren’t good, they are, quite good in fact, I just feel like they fall just short of greatness, but they have the chops to get there, for sure!
Corsicana Lemonade was produced in part by Jeff Tweedy, so my immediate first thought was that these guys might be a little smooth. Nope, not the case at all, however they do sound like a Wilco-fied version of the Black Keys, so take that for what it’s worth. “New Blue Feeling” sounds exactly like the Black Keys, and by exactly like the Black Keys, I mean exactly like the Black Keys. In fact, so do “Come Back” and “Pretty Green”. “Limited by Stature” is a cool little track that finds the band settling into their own voice and not sounding like somebody else. Album closer “A Place to Start” is a mellow winner that sounds like it was beamed in straight from the 70’s, this I can go for.
Corsicana Lemonade suffered some for me because so much of it sounded just like the Black Keys. Now, I admit, I really like the Black Keys, and White Denim does a good job with it, but I had to take some style points away for originality. But I simply cannot deny that the record sounds good, is well played, and is pretty catchy and enjoyable. It’s just not terribly original, but I don’t suppose it has to be, it just needs to be fun, and Corsicana Lemonade is definitely that!
Key Tracks: “Limited by Stature”, “A Place to Start”, “Distant Relative Salute”
Artists With Similar Fire: The Black Keys / Wilco / The Allman Brothers
White Denim Website
White Denim Facebook
Downtown Music
– Reviewed by Kevin Poindexter
Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, I am extremely proud of the area I grew up in and the influence it has had on the world at large, from the Wright Brothers to Robert Pollard, the area has been a center of innovation both technologically and artistically. During my college years at the University of Dayton, I found myself becoming more and more immersed in the local music scene, a period of time in the early to mid 90's that coincided with the rise of bands like Guided by Voices, Brainiac, and The Breeders, who added to the rich musical legacy of the area. Dayton is also the hometown of many giants of funk in the 70's and is also the birthplace of Jazz greats Billy Strayhorn, John Scofield and Bud Shank. I wrote extensively for The Fire Note, a great online magazine focused on indie rock, in the 2010's while simultaneously being a partner in Rockathon Records, before retiring from both in 2018. In 2024, my thoughts turned back to helping at Rockathon and more importantly to pick back up on my writing, and more specifically to write about my love of jazz. I'm always listening, always searching for something new, something great. It's been a lifelong journey, and I still feel like there is so much out there to hear.
- Kevin Poindexterhttps://thefirenote.com/author/kpoindexter/
- Kevin Poindexterhttps://thefirenote.com/author/kpoindexter/
- Kevin Poindexterhttps://thefirenote.com/author/kpoindexter/
- Kevin Poindexterhttps://thefirenote.com/author/kpoindexter/
Although not as unpredictable as Fits or as front-to-back solid as D, White Denim has carved out a cool niche between the Allman Brothers and indie prog with Corsicana Lemonade and I dig it. They are all over the map and I guess that’s what I like about them. That and how James Petralli sounds kinda like Paul Rogers of Bad Company.