White Denim’s 13 finds James Petralli tightening the focus while letting the band’s restless instincts run wide. The Austin-born group, now anchored in Los Angeles, has spent nearly two decades refusing to sit still, and this thirteenth album leans into that reputation without getting lost in it.

The record pulls from everywhere Petralli’s ears have wandered. You can hear flashes of Scritti Politti’s sleek pop, the funk punch of the Gap Band, the exploratory dub of King Tubby, and the melodic instincts of Stevie Wonder. It sounds like a lot on paper, but Petralli has always had a way of threading those influences into something that moves with purpose instead of spinning off in every direction.

Tracks like “(God Created) Lock And Key,” “Only A Fool,” and “That’s Rap” show how that mix plays out. The grooves hit first, then the details start to surface. There’s funk that leans into rock, soul that brushes up against blues, and just enough dub echo to keep things loose around the edges. It’s dense without feeling crowded, layered without losing the thread.

White Denim has been doing this since Workout Holiday in 2008, when they came out of Austin sounding like they were already a few steps ahead of whatever scene they were supposed to belong to. Corsicana Lemonade in 2013 brought a sharper studio focus, but the band never traded away its unpredictability. That balance still drives 13. The playing is tight, the ideas come fast, and Petralli remains the center of it all, steering the songs with his guitar work and a voice that can pivot from laid-back to urgent without warning.

Two decades in, 13 lands like a band still chasing the next turn rather than looking back at where they’ve been.