White Denim: "Sync'n"

Having an anti-image is one thing, but White Denim is so quietly proficient that even that description seems kind of wrong. Here there’s nothing to focus on—the band turns a refusal to spotlight anything into a cloud of mystique over songs that in other hands would be flashy showcases. Fits is full of casually concise little solos, classic-rock left turns (organ dub to swinging acoustic to soulful pop to complicated punk all in a few minutes), along with the stock indie fuzz-yelp thing polished into just another part of the arsenal. I saw somebody call it “psychedelic,” watched their lips form those words, but as far as I know it’s that only when considering how many dials have to be fiddled with to pack open-ended ideas into three-minute pop songs. What the fuck does that word even mean?

The big reason “Sync’n” is such a grabby song might be because it’s the last one on Fits and by far the longest (4:19), so a listener actually has time to think about it. It starts out with a little Calexico-friendly arpeggio alongside tinny reverb vocals that are, actually, Britpop warble strong despite the lack of attention paid to them. Then it builds to a la-la climax, except, again, there’s that curious negative energy where so many hefty elements refuse to act their weight. So, you know, the title is a lark; I still feel like I haven’t even heard this song; the bowels on this thing are bottomless. Which is to say I don’t feel like I know what the band is up to enough to completely recommend them—but I keep listening anyway.