White Blood Cells
Rock & roll is constantly splintering into multiple personalities. Big radio  players layer thick slabs of studio shine on their albums, while back-to-the-basics  rockers keep the sound so raw it rubs calluses on your ears. The White Stripes fall  in the latter category. The duo strips down to the fundamentals of Meg White's simple  drumbeat and Jack White's garagy guitar and pleading vocals. While the elements are  sparse, the Detroit act create a noisy, hip-grinding batch of punk R&B;, displayed again  onWhite Blood Cells, the Stripes' third full-length. While it's hard to pick  favorites from such talent, this band only gets better with time. White's vocals were  sounding like a young Robert Plant onDe Stijl--definitely not a bad thing--but  onCells, he's developed his own persona. He throws musical fits on "Fell in Love  with a Girl," gets almost loungy on the piano number "This Protector," and keeps the blues  vibe running on "Now Mary." The album is so rich with basic variations on a simple theme  it's hard to believe such soulful energy comes from just two people.White Blood Cellsis an amazing piece of work, a benchmark that ought to inspire new legions of garage rockers  for years to come.--Jennifer Maerz