Jack is back

Initially, it didn’t look like there was much reason to be optimistic about the Dead Weather, Jack White’s collaboration with Allison Mosshart (the Kills), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (the Raconteurs). White’s projects have been declining in quality in recent years, and the Dead Weather’s early singles were more baffling than they were infectious. “Hang You from the Heavens” hardly lived up to the radio-friendly accessibility of “Fell in Love with a Girl,” “Seven Nation Army,” or even “Steady, as She Goes.” And with its rambling structure and numerous tempo shifts, “Treat Me Like Your Mother” was simply too eclectic to work as a single.

Within the context of Horehound, however, these songs hold up much better; what the album lacks in knock-out singles it makes up for in relentless energy. The album hits like a full-on assault, its primal garage blues and ominous spaghetti western guitar riffs making it Jack’s best album since 2003’s career-defining Elephant. Unlike the Raconteurs overly-fussy Consolers of the Lonely, the Dead Weather returns the White Stripe to his minimalist roots with gritty lo-fi recordings that befit the raucous mood.

Of course, Jack doesn’t deserve full credit for the success of Horehound, especially since the album relegates him to the less visible roles of drummer and producer. It’s Allison Mosshart who’s placed front-and-centre, her howling vocals channeling the woman-scorned intensity of Karen O (circa Fever to Tell). Her brash screaming on “Bone House” evokes an era of rap metal era before it was tainted by Limp Bizkit; fittingly, Fertita provides a freak-out tremolo solo that’s crazier than anything Tom Morello has produced in years.

But despite the group’s apparent democracy, it’s the moments when Jack takes over that are the most memorable. The album’s best track is “Cut Like a Buffalo,” and it’s the only song for which White receives sole writing credit. Punctuated by blasts of distorted organ and disorienting, proggy breakdowns, Jack’s vocal performance is downright maniacal. While the lyrics are too obtuse to fully decipher, lines like “You cut a record on my throat then you / Break me wide open” are chilling.

Horehound is the first album recorded in Jack’s new Third Man Studio in Nashville and, based on the evidence here, the experience appears to have revitalized his career. After the hyper-compressed sheen of Blackbird Studio (where Icky Thump and Consolers of the Lonely were recorded), White has returned to the unrefined glory of his best work. With a slew of new projects in the pipeline, there’s now plenty of reason to be hopeful for whatever comes next.

The jury’s still out on the Dead Weather

Given the declining quality of Jack White’s many releases, the Dead Weather feels a bit like a make-or-break type project. Reactions to the group’s live shows have generally positive, so there’s reason to be optimistic about the quartet’s debut album, Horehound, which will be released on July 14.

The group released its second single, “Treat Me Like Your Mother,” yesterday via Jack’s own Third Man Records. Today, the song was released online as a free download (newsletter signup required). The tune doesn’t really settle my ambivalence towards the project. It features plenty of fuzzed-out garage rock riffing, with shrieking vocal trade-offs between White and bandmate Allison Mosshart (lead singer of the Kills). It’s got a complex structure, with plenty of tempo changes and no clear chorus. This makes it a challenging and unpredictable listen, but its restless structure feels a bit like a case of too few ideas, rather than too many; none of the sections are good enough to merit repetition, so the group has no choice but to change directions every 30 seconds.

The jury’s still out until Horehound hits the shelves (or, more likely, until it hits the internet sometime before). Click here to download “Treat Me Like Your Mother.”

Because one supergroup is not enough

Both of Jack White’s bands have experienced a decline in quality on recent albums – Icky Thump (the White Stripes) and Consolers of the Lonely (the Raconteurs) lacked the fire of White’s early work, with hyper-compressed guitars and gimmicky arrangements. But you’ve got to admire him for not beating a dead horse. Less than three weeks after the White Stripes reunited to perform on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brian, Jack White has announced his new band, the Dead Weather. This time around, White is playing drums, forfeiting lead vocal duties to Alison Moshart of the Kills. Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs and the Greenhornes is the bassist, while Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age rounds out the lineup on guitar.

The band debuted at a private party in Nashville, where guests were handed a limited edition 7″ of the single “Hang You From the Heavens.” It’s not exactly a song for the ages, and it can’t quite match when the Raconteurs stormed out of the gate with “Steady, As She Goes.” Still, it’s a rocking tune, with fuzzed-out bass and a jolting stop-start chorus. Even though Jack White is ostensibly taking a back seat in the Dead Weather, it’s hard not to hear his mark all over this one – especially since it bears a strong similarity to the Raconteurs’ “These Stones Will Shout.”

For us plebs not cool enough to be at the performance, the single can be purchased on iTunes along with the b-side, a cover of Gary Numan’s “Are Friends Electric?” The band will release its debut full-length, Horehound, in June via White’s own Third Man Records. (Incidentally, horehound is a type of plant, not to be confused with whorehound.)