What usually goes uncommented upon are the Stripes' lyrics, which provide some of the album's best moments. No matter how darkly the group's music rages, its songs are often nothing short of gosh-darn sweet. Sure, on "The Union Forever" they insist There is no true love, but Jack White is nearly as likely to admit I don't know any lullabies ... but I can learn or to carp against know-it-all kids who treat their folks like shit. And just as surely as they cop John Lennon's scorching riff from "Revolution," they offer a tale of puppy love ("We're Going to be Friends") that's unabashedly Paul McCartney. Its seemingly depressive title aside, the heavy, lurching guitar on "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" captures perfectly the ecstatic, dangerous, romantic rush of being reunited with a lover. If you can hear a piano fall, you can hear me coming down the hall, Jack blurts. And as his ex bangs along with him to create a lumbering, feedback-laced groove, it makes you want to drop everything and race to meet them at the door.
