Texas band White Denim boast a rich album discography that delights beyond the sum of its parts. If the band, led by James Petralli, often sound like a psychedelic version of Steely Dan played by punk and rock fans, it’s because that’s roughly what they are. Tight and virtuosic but never self-indulgent, White Denim fashion time-signature changes into grooves – a process enhanced here by guitarist and singer Raze Regal, formerly of Oakland psych-pop outfit the Once and Future Band, one-time White Denim tourmates.
This Regal/Petralli two-hander came together during lockdown when Regal moved to Austin, TX to regroup after the dissolution of his band and long-term relationship. Counterintuitively, the results are funky, warm and full of juice, even as the tracklisting boasts downbeat titles such as Dislocation (“no cause for celebrating victory”) and Blood (“smoke myself to sleep”). Over 10 tunes, Regal and Petralli fashion taut, soulful pop nuggets out of jazz fusion licks, a sound not a million miles from Tame Impala meeting Thundercat, but gnarlier and different at every turn. Tivoli’s verses are as smooth as butter, pondering betrayal, but the song’s chorus is the record’s big rock guitar moment, complete with anthemic “oh, oh, ohs”.
