White Denim 12
White Denim's 12 arrives as a sunlit, ambitious record that marries buoyant pop hooks with soul-inflected production and wry, often bittersweet storytelling. Across professional reviews, critics point to songs like “Light On”, “Second Dimension” and “Look Good” as the album's clearest highlights, where melodic craftsmanship and adventurous arrangements converge to address loneliness, mortality and persistence with unexpectedly sunny optimism.
The critical consensus places 12 firmly in positive territory, earning a 79.6/100 consensus score across five professional reviews. Reviewers consistently praise James Petralli's studio focus and collaborative, genre-blending approach - the record's blend of Philly-soul warmth, 70s pop sheen and dance-pop/electronica touches shows both evolution and careful studio craftsmanship. Critics singled out “Light On” repeatedly as an opener that frames the album's themes, while “Second Dimension” and “Look Good” emerge as standout tracks for their groove, imagination and hooky payoff.
Not all reviewers ignore rough edges: some note uneven patches in the album's middle and occasional overreach where experimentation competes with cohesion. Still, the prevailing view from professional reviews describes 12 as a rewarding, sometimes vulnerable leap in White Denim's catalog, a record where production experimentation, soul and pop fusion, and melodic energy make a persuasive case for why critics agree the best songs on 12 are worth repeated listens. For those wondering whether 12 is good, the consensus score and recurring praise for its standout tracks suggest it is a noteworthy, evolution-minded release in the band's body of work.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Good Riddance
1 mention
"she manages a perky as well as gorgeously floaty, cathartic, if still bittersweet final track - Good Riddance"— Song Bar
Look Good
1 mention
"“Look Good,” featuring the “Queen of Austin Soul,” Tameca Jones, is a standout"— Glide Magazine
Math Equation
1 mention
"On Math Equation, for example: "You said I needed my own friends / So I found them / Then you fucked them.""— Song Bar
she manages a perky as well as gorgeously floaty, cathartic, if still bittersweet final track - Good Riddance
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Light On
Econolining
Flash Bare Ass
Cat City #2
Look Good
Second Dimension
I Still Exist
Your Future As God
Swinging Door
We Can Move Along
Hand Out Giving
Precious Child
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
White Denim’s 12 is almost sunlit in its ambitions, and the best songs - especially “I Still Exist” and “Light On” - marry self-doubt to heavenly, hooky melodies. Janne Oinonen lingers on how “I Still Exist” weds introspection to Philly-soul lushness, while the opener “Light On” revels in a restless, bittersweet swoon. The closer “Precious Child” is singled out as an elegantly hushed, trumpet-led bruised ballad, rounding the album with emotional honesty. Overall, the record’s joyous messiness and art-pop-soul fusion make these tracks the clearest standouts on 12.
Key Points
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The best song, “I Still Exist”, is best because it pairs self-doubt with a heavenly, Philly-soul-inflected melody.
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The album’s core strengths are sunlit melodies, soulful songwriting, and adventurous, joyously messy production.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his warm, detail-rich voice Daniel Dylan Wray presents White Denim's 12 as a bold stylistic leap where the best songs - notably “Light On”, “Econolining” and “Swinging Door” - crystallise the album's gifts. He writes with keen admiration for Petralli's studio focus and the record's glistening production, praising how tracks like “Second Dimension” and “I Still Exist” channel classic soul while sounding utterly personal. The review frames these best tracks as proof that meticulous, collaborative craft has yielded some of White Denim's hookiest, most ambitious music to date.
Key Points
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The best song(s) marry meticulous studio production with joyous, hooky songwriting, exemplified by "Light On" and "Econolining".
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The album's core strengths are its collaborative breadth, pristine hi-fi production and ambitious, soulful arrangements.
Themes
Critic's Take
The best songs on 12 are where James Petralli’s experimentation pays off, notably “Look Good” and “Second Dimension”, which lock in groove and imagination. Joey Willis hears the album’s most successful passages as warm and introspective - the opener “Light On” frames recurring concerns about loneliness and mortality while “Precious Child” closes with smoky brass that resonates. The record’s middle is praised as its high point, where funk-soul textures and synth-driven arrangements make the best tracks stand out. Yet Willis also notes uneven moments, so the list of best tracks is rooted in those that balance technical ambition with emotional weight.
Key Points
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“Look Good” is best because its duet, groove, and synths most successfully marry technical ambition with soulful feel.
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The album’s core strength is adventurous experimentation born of solitary creation, blending genres and emotional themes of mortality.
Themes
Critic's Take
There is a buoyant confidence running through White Denim’s 12, and the review makes clear the best songs - notably “Light On” and “Hand Out Giving” - anchor that feeling. Sam Walker-Smart writes with an easy, measured pleasure, noting how “Light On” opens with light-footed grooves and “Hand Out Giving” becomes the album's most impassioned moment. The piece frames the record as pop-forward and melodic, leaning into 70s radio textures on tracks like “Second Dimension” while keeping a rootsy core. In short, the best tracks on 12 are the ones that marry White Denim’s earthy instincts with widescreen ambition, making it a late-year stunner.
Key Points
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“Hand Out Giving” is the album's emotional centerpiece, blending country roots with baroque pop grandeur.
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The album's core strengths are its melodic, energetic songwriting and successful fusion of 70s pop textures with White Denim's earthy instincts.