Are they brother and sister or man and wife? What do their new uniforms signify? Oh, forget all that tabloid speculation - what's important is that the new album from Jack and Meg White has the feel of an instant classic. Elephant is perfectly named; it's a big, lumbering rock'n'roll beast that makes plenty of noise and leaves the competition cowering in its wake. Recorded in a matter of days on vintage 1950s equipment, this blistering collection of blues riffs and garage punk may be primitive in its back to basics approach - but it's also quite simply the most viscerally exciting noise you're likely to hear all year. And while the oblique lyrics don't always make a lot of sense, somehow their very oddness suits the music perfectly - which may well have been the intention in the first place. Only the cover of Bacharach's 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself' feels misguided, a foray into more mannered territory that doesn't really suit them. According to Jack White, the Stripes will make one more album and then split. In fact, they could retire now and still have earned their place in rock history - because Elephant really is that good.
