Does rock music EVER get any simpler than this? The White Stripes are comprised of two members: Jack White and Meg White, whose relationship is of dubious status (either brother-sister or ex-husband-ex-wife). But that has little to do with their music, or the album I'm reviewing today. Their self-titled debut is simple. Very, very simple. Since it's a duo, and JUST the duo, there's vocals, guitar and drums.

Of course, this doesn't mean they can't be diverse. They prove that they can try out all kinds of styles on their next album. But here, they just lay down the base of their sound. The album is 17 songs and 45 minutes long. Jack's songwriting is still very rough and simple.

But they rock with ferocity. Punky and Bluesy at the same time - that's their calling card. Other than the covers (the best of which is "Stop Breaking Down"), the lyrics are pretty simple. The riffs are simple, but that doesn't mean that there isn't any interesting guitar work. And Meg holds things down on drums.

The best songs here, though, are the bopping, hooky, and just plain heavy. "Jimmy the Exploder" and "Astro" are the two main highlights here. Both of them are incredibly simplistic and show the album's style perfectly. They're unabashed rockers, and that's when the Stripes are at their best.

And there aren't any bad songs on here. The Stripes are pretty consistent on their debut. Most of it isn't particularly memorable, though. They'd get over that on their second and third albums. But as a debut, The White Stripes is a fine album, and a good introduction to an always changing duo of musicians who will continue to frequently grow.