Pitchfork

They're baaaaack! The White Stripes announced on their website late last night that their sixth album, which bears the excellently bizarre title of Icky Thump, will be released "as soon as corporately possible."

It was recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, and includes the songs "Catch Hell Blues", "Little Cream Soda", "Rag and Bone", "You Don't Know What Love Is (Just Do As You're Told)", "I'm Slowly Turning Into You", and "Icky Thump".

As previously reported, the new album will be delivered via the Stripes' new home, Warner Bros. They will support it with appearances at Bonnaroo as well as Germany's Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals in June.

In typical White Stripes fashion, the album details were revealed via a silly, semi-cryptic message. See below for the full text.

Hello to all the Candy Cane Children in the land,

The White Stripes have completed the recording and mixing of their sixth album. It is entitled:

"Icky Thump"

and is their first album to include a title track, which curiously (and not ironically) has the same words in it's name. Though some residents of northern England might almost recognize the title, the Stripes stress they are spelling it wrong intentionally just for "kicks" and "metaphors", and to avoid a possible lawsuit from the estate of Billy Eckstine.

The record was recorded in Nashville at Blackbird Studio. And word around the sewing circle is that many of your favorite White Stripe type songs may not be your favorite (pronounced favaright) White Stripe type songs for long.

Some song titles include:

Catch Hell Blues
Little Cream Soda
Monkeys Have It Easy (discarded)
Rag and Bone
Clicky Bump (retitled into something pleasant)
Blue Orchid (relocated to previous album)
You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)

It was the longest time the delightful duo have ever spent in the studio, totaling almost three weeks. Jack and Meg were said to have been looking like they were "into it almost". And even Meg herself was quoted while leaving a local Nashville Laundromat saying that the record was, in her best estimate; "finished", "musical in nature" and lastly, though slightly muffled, "good".

The Stripes will be releasing a statement soon saying: "we are doing our best (whatever that is) to release the album as soon as corporately possible. And though we are tired, worn, weary, hungry, cold, and left without an ounce of nutrition amongst ourselves, we are in the midst of planning performance type shows aroundst the world."

Here now is a short film clip of The Stripes working on a thoroughly rough and ghastly early version of a track from the new album entitled "I'm Slowly Turning Into You"... LINKS DON'T WORK ON MY COMPUTER-- PERHAPS THEY WORK ON YOURS?

(the actual music has been replaced with mid eighties sampling keyboard technology to prevent what industry analysts are now calling "song poaching")

Kitayana Ireyna Tatanya Kerenska Alisofaa
Reporting for the MOSCOW BUGLE