Icky thump is definitely the most confusing and polarising stripes album. And it was bound to coming after their least liked album and at the end of their career. The album jumps between stylings of heavy blues rock, folk, country, and even hard rock. And while it can definitely seem like they’re seeing what shit sticks, I can’t help but love the album for it. It’s so absolutely chaotic that it makes for one of their most enjoyable listens and surprisingly good batch of songs despite a seemingly intentional lack of consistency. But as per most stripes albums the closer here is quite lacklustre, even more so coming at the close of their career. But despite it all it stands as my second favourite stripes album, and one that I’ll likely always come back to.
By: Jeikuro