The White Stripes: 'Conquest'

It's a weird time in the world of The White Stripes. Meg's having some sort of nervous breakdown and being accused of starring in saucy sex scandals, while Jack's playing the sulky teenager and saying he's not bothered about touring anyway. Meanwhile, their splendid Icky Thump LP has been casually brush-stroked over by most end-of-year polls.

Latest single 'Conquest' opens with a 'Seven Nation Army'-esque pounding drum intro that duels for our attention with Spanish horns and Jack's melodramatic hollering. It's the usual stop-start thud of Meg's drumming that will keep your toes tapping until two minutes 20 in - the moment when Jack makes his guitar sound like a flute shoved up an elephant's trunk and the whole tune collapses under the weight of its own absurdity. A bonkers record to end a rather bonkers year for the blues-stomping duo.