Icky Thump

Engineer Joe Chiccarelli recorded and mixed it entirely in analog in Studio D at Blackbird, across January and early February 2007. The three weeks were the longest the band ever spent in a studio. Jack had no finished songs as of December 2006. The sessions used two 16-track machines instead of the usual 8-track, and no Pro Tools. The title comes from ecky thump, a Lancashire expression Jack heard from Karen Elson. The album added Scottish folk, trumpet and bagpipes: Jim Drury played pipes on Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn and St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air), the second sung by Meg and written about the death of Jack's father. Mariachi trumpeter Regulo Aldama played on Conquest, which was the fourth and last single released by the band.

The album entered the UK chart at number one and the Billboard 200 at number two, with 223,000 copies sold. It won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, and the title track won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The title track's lyric addresses the hypocrisy of white Americans' attitude toward Mexican immigration.