White Denim, one of the very best rock bands to emerge this millennium, have gone through rapid changes in the 2020s, and now open an exciting new chapter with the wondrous album, 12, which arrives rich in hot tunes and fresh invention.

Its always been hard to keep pace with James Petrallis group, ever since they first exploded out of Austin, Texas in 08 with hyper-kinetic post-punk bangers like Shake Shake Shake and I Start To Run. There was delicious romance in the original trios MO, as they hatched intrepid sounds together via lengthy jams in a 1940s Spartan trailer parked up in woodland outside the city. James duly raced on through shifting line-ups and kaleidoscopic shades of soul, jazz and Southern rock, always with a feel of in-the-moment authenticity.

As for so many musicians, the pandemic forced Petralli into a radical rethink in both life and creative process. Going into White Denims twelfth long-player, he relocated his family to Los Angeles, and, barred from the usual workouts on the floor with his latest group members under COVID, he plunged deep into the science of assembling tracks digitally, with contributions from players hed sometimes never even meet.

The results on 12 are intricate, hi-tech and forward-facing, yet also somehow still of a piece with the questing ambition, rootsy swing and uplifting way with melody weve come to adore about Petrallis music. 12 is released via Bella Union on 6th December.