Fits (Expanded Version)

iTunes Review

Fits reveals a band of considerable accomplishment lurking behind a gnarly façade. Not since the early ‘80s heyday of the Minutemen has a garage-rock unit experimented with textures and rhythms so freely. Furious eruptions of barrio salsa (“El Hard Attack DCWYW”), chilly flurries of Europop (“Sex Prayer”) and barnyard country boogie (“Paint Yourself”) send White Denim careening all over the sonic map. The trio is unafraid to lower the decibels and even harmonize, as the beguiling “Regina Holding Hands” indicates. “Mirrored and Reverse” launches them into the nether regions of space rock, while “Say What You Want” bristles with Jimi Hendrix-like funky aggression. Singer/guitarist James Petralli carries himself with swagger tempered with sly humor, matched by the supple, protean power of Josh Block’s drums and Steve Terebecki’s bass. If there’s a conceptual heart to this short yet sprawling album, it may be the frazzled, tension-inducing “I Start to Run,” a tune blending R&B, Latin and punk with jittery ease.