Review: White Denim

****

Dingwalls, Camden

WHITE Denim gave a packed Dingwalls the musical equivalent of a stiff  boot to the backside last night, while proving big things come in small packages. Although only a trio, the sound this much-feted Texas band produce is astonishing. Merging the lo-fi attitude of Minutemen, the precision of Battles and the sleazy garage-rock of The Stooges, the result 's uncompromising and wildly fun.

Having recorded debut album Work Out Holiday in a caravan, the band seem to want to recreate that intensity by filling every last inch of  space with noise. Anchored brilliantly by drummer Josh Block's polyrhythmic thunder, the ferocity of the show was lapped up by a heaving moshpit that intriguingly spanned the generations.

With songs merging via brilliant moments of improvisation, and with singer/ guitarist James Petralli's bluesy holler and wah-wah pedal, they even evoke the freaked out intensity of Jimi Hendrix. It's that good.

- Oliver Keens