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The New York Times wrote that "the Suns are defining their own punk-pop-metal turf." The Philadelphia Inquirer included the album among the 10 best of 1986, noting the "bashing sonic impact of punk the melodic skill of the most accessible rock music." The Washington Post called "White Elephant" "an exemplary post-punk romp: clamorous and frenetic, but also melodic and tightly structured."
The AllMusic review by Andy Kellman states: "The noisier abandon is immediately apparent from Jon Williams' nasty abrasion at the beginning of 'White Elephant', undeniably sounding much like some of Roger Miller's more memorable antics in Mission of Burma. And with that song, as with The Bright Orange Years' 'Jak', the band once again sticks their catchiest (and funniest) song at the very beginning, as if to grab the listener by the throat, and the grip here never really slackens. Aside from the near-ballad 'Room with a View' and the schizo tempo shifts in 'Blown Stack', the first side—also highlighted by the charmingly sloppy neo-rockabilly of 'Cans' and the hurtling 'Walk Around'—whips by at breakneck speed, while the second side is slower yet no less rowdy or welcoming."
Track listing
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length
1.
"White Elephant"
Volcano Suns
2:59
2.
"Cans"
Jeff Weigand
2:22
3.
"Room with a View"
Peter Prescott, Jeff Weigand
3:17
4.
"Blown Stack"
Prescott
1:43
5.
"Engines"
Prescott
2:12
6.
"Walk Around"
Volcano Suns
2:22
7.
"Sounds Like Bucks"
Prescott
3:20
8.
"Four Letters"
Volcano Suns
2:56
9.
"Dot on the Map"
Prescott
4:04
10.
"Village Idiot"
Prescott
3:07
11.
"Ride the Cog"
Volcano Suns
2:15
12.
"Polythene Pam / Greasy Spine" (Bonus track on 2009 re-release)