August 28, 2002
White Stripes : Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
Our Single Of The Week is 'as fine a piece of noise we've heard this year'....
Nearly a year on from their crashlanding into the spotlight here’s a timely reminder from The White Stripes why everyone from the NME to Richard and Judy and the Amish fell arse-about-face for them in the first place.
Backed by scabby live favourite ‘Suzy Lee’, ‘Dead Leaves…’ isn’t the most obvious choice for the final single from the ‘White Blood Cells’ LP; it’s darker than the cutesy-pie ‘Hotel Yorba’ and more sluggish than the just-add-water raucousness of ‘Fell in Love With A Girl’. But it’s as fine a piece of noise we’ve heard this year. We have no choice but to salute it's might and majesty.
Imran Ahmed
To read all our reviews first - days before they appear online - check out NME magazine, on sale every Wednesday
For the latest music videos and backstage interviews, check out our sister site, NME Video.
- Previous Track Review: Underworld : Two Days Off
- Next Album Review : Jason Loewenstein : At Sixes And Sevens
Comments do not always reflect the views of NME, or IPC Media, for guidelines visit our Ts & Cs page