Elephant is the fourth studio album by the American rock duo The White Stripes, released on April 1, 2003, by V2, XL, and Third Man.

It was mostly recorded at Maida Vale and Toe Rag Studios across two weeks in April 2002, and was produced without the use of computers, instead utilizing a duct-taped 8 track tape machine and various gear no more recent than 1963.

[1] An article in The New York Times reported the band attempted to achieve the idea of "Back to Basics" and encourage other rockers to try the same; this was a concept seen on their previous album, White Blood Cells (2001).

[32] "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" was originally written for White Blood Cells, but it was removed on Meg's request, who found the lyrics to be problematic.

[38][39] Jack is displaying a mano cornuta and looking at a light bulb intensely, while Meg is barefoot and appears to be crying, with a rope tied around her ankle and leading out of frame.

[50][51] In March of that same year, an Elephant deluxe edition was released,[52][53] which includes live recordings from a performance in Chicago's Aragon Ballroom.

[27] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called the album their "apotheosis" and wrote that "the White Stripes' music seems almost elemental, their power undeniable: it is clear why they are the only band to have transcended the indie ghetto.

"[74] Lorraine Ali of Newsweek criticized the "gimmicks" that surrounded the White Stripes' music, but concluded that "Elephant still sounds great.

"[75] John Mulvey of NME stated that "The eloquence, barbarism, tenderness and sweat-drenched vitality of Elephant make it the most fully-realised White Stripes album yet.

"[61] Tim Alves of PopMatters said the album cemented "their evolution from Blind Willie McTell cover band with a pop sensibility to full-fledged, honest-to-goodness rock 'n' roll gods.

"[76] David Fricke of Rolling Stone called Elephant "a work of pulverizing perfection," and believed it exceeded "the plantation holler of 2000's De Stijl and 2001's White Blood Cells with blues that both pop and bleed".

[64][77] Uncut magazine remarked that "Elephant is where the tabloid phenomenon of summer 2001 prove they are no flash in the pan by making a truly phenomenal record.

"[78] Jon Pareles of The New York Times praised the continuation of their "Back to Basics" style, but felt that "the quest—for something that might as well be called heart—is still ahead of them.

[84][85] "Ball and Biscuit" was described by Kitty Empire of The Observer as "astonishing" and David Malitz of The Washington Post called it their "definitive statement";[86][87] it was voted the best Jack White song by readers of Rolling Stone "by a landslide" even though it was never released as a single.

[88] The tracks "Black Math" and "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" were called "sonic ferocities" by Ron Hart of Spin.