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THE WHITE STRIPES "Elephant" (V2 Records) 4 stars

The White Stripes are all about the contrasts, all about the contradictions.

It's the glare of red on white. It's the ex-married couple who still claim, well after getting called out, to be brother and sister.

Most of all _ and the only thing that matters when it comes down to it _ it's the way a ferocious guitar lick sprawls across a primitive, submissive rhythm, with a nervous vocal howl winding its way in between.

"Elephant" is an apt title for the fourth record from Detroit's beloved garage rock duo. And judging from the band's recent comments, it was chosen quite deliberately: Big, strong and wild, the album also bares a sweet vulnerability that veers awfully close to charming.

The album carries the imprint of a band that sounds wholly confident, thoroughly on top of its game and utterly unaffected by its success. 2001's "White Blood Cells" sold more than 600,000 copies and garnered as many pages of breathless praise from fans and critics jonesing for rock music that sounded real. Fans who dug that breakthrough album _ and those who have been along for the ride since the band's 1999 debut _ will find little to complain about here. Meanwhile, onlookers who still weren't convinced _ who figured it was all a gimmick _ will have a hard time continuing to come up with justifications that work.

"Elephant" was cut late last year at a London studio full of vintage gear, but it may as well have been recorded in a dark Detroit basement after a late-night bar gig. As the star of this show, guitarist ...