Features

Summer Stars: White Denim

Our Summer Stars series features a variety of groups making the rounds on the festival circuit. Today we visit with White Denim. For more of our Summer Star pieces, click here. In addition, click here to check out the Relix festival guide .

With each passing year, White Denim turns a new stone, venturing into musical paths and waters that extend the broad scope of their psychedelic rock sound. “In a way, we have many directions at one time,” guitarist Austin Jenkins explains. “It’s just what we’re currently working on and having continuity. That process will form what direction we go in.”

During the last five years, the prolific group has put out five LPs and an equal number of EPs. In May 2011, they released the prog-aligned D, followed by the starkly contrasting Takes Place in Your Workspace EP—their mellowest effort to date.

From their roots as a three-piece garagey punk outfit, the quartet (Jenkins joined White Denim as a fulltime member in August 2010) has since taken on a jammier, progressive direction that explores a more articulated sound, built up by intricately composed songs ripe with varying time signatures and extended measures of guitar acrobatics.

A constant, however, is the group’s powerful live performance. “One thing that we enjoy doing live is tying a lot of music together thematically and appreciating how certain tempos or rhythms will work with each other,” says bassist Stephen Terebecki.

This summer, the group will make debut appearances at festivals across the country and overseas, while continuing their rigorous road schedule and beginning to work on their next full length. “We’re going to bring some recording equipment and mics on the road with us,” says Terebecki. “We’re playing a lot and developing ideas for the next album.”

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Favorite summertime food: Fish tacos come to mind.

Best album for a warm summer night: Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever