Review: White Animals—White Animals

White Animals must have been under the care of a preservationist for eons! When they first hit the scene in 1981, they stood out from among the image-centric video-ready artists of that decade because of their gutsy straight-from-the-heart white soul music. Here we are in 2002, but listening to these guys, you'd never know that digital technology infiltrated the music world. This quintet attacks its primitive garage rock with a Flintstone-like tenacity.

Fans, no doubt, love White Animals for many of the same reasons diehards are so dedicated to straight talkers like Springsteen. "Little Hollywood" is an empathetic character study. "Let's Say We Did It" sparkles because of its Tom Petty-like guitar jangle, and a vocal track that sounds like a long lost cousin to The Mavericks. Then there's "Last Days In May," which is slow and dirgey, vibrating with big guitars and a strong Southern accent. "I Can't Give You Anything" bashes and pops like the Romantics. "Elusive," with its vocal harmonies and accordion, is an extremely pretty ballad that even name-drops Audrey Hepburn.

These guys may have what might best be termed "Midwestern values" down pat, but they're not on the same social lyrical wavelengths as Mellencamp or Springsteen. They'd much rather talk about girls—even at their, uh, advanced ages—than explore the plight of the family farmer, for example.

Yes, the preservationists have done a fine job with these minor musical landmarks, but White Animals is not ready for the curators quite yet. This release is your queue to take a little bit of living history home. —Dan MacIntosh