The Dead Weather - Horehound
Monday, July 13, 2009
Jack White has yet another side project and even snaked the bass player from the Raconteurs to join him. Jack also brought the guitarist from Queens of the Stone Age and singer/guitarist Alison Mosshart from the Kills to finish off the band. Jack's latest project is entitled The Dead Weather and showcases Alison on vocals. They did a great job on promotion, they dropped the 1st single back in May and staged a number of drive-by shows in select cities. Jack even went as far as to starting up a fan club for his label and setting up temporary storefronts in NYC to promote the new cd and other releases. I give Jack props for a great launch and for attempting to stay in the background on this one (well as much as he can since he is pretty much a media whore/diva).
Getting back to the music, Horehound starts off with a country sludge fest teetering between some twang and minimalist bass/drums. Alison slithers thru as if this was a song from the Kills debut. Track 2 "Hang You From The Heavens" was the 1st single, a raucous kick in nuts blues bastardization. Think Jon Spencer except with a phenomenal female vocalist. At this point I was really digging things until track 3 "I Cut Like A Buffalo" where Jack felt the need to take over the vocals. While the keyboard has a great sound, the rest of the song is a bit flat. Track 4 "So Far From Your Weapon" features Alison breathing vocals over a climbing guitar and jangling bass line. The song builds into a strung out jam session. Track 5 "Treat Me Like Your Mother" is rather Kills sounding just fuller since its a full band and not a drum machine/guitar. It's tight and features Jack joining Alison on vocal duties. Jack is almost rapping here, more of a talk sing though it's not that pretty. Track 6 "Rocking Horse" slows it down with a subtle bass line and spaghetti western guitar riff. Jack tries to emulate the tension between Hotel and Mosshart but struggles to find it. Track 8 "Bone House" features maracas and a toe tapping beat. Its the most straight forward song on the cd so far. The guitar riff is simple but is piercing with its tone. Track 9 "3 Birds" dives into psychedelic garage rock and is the only instrumental. Track 10 "No Hassle Night" brings Alison back on vocals who glides thru a minefield of stormy guitars and bass. The cd finishes off with "Will There Be Enough Water?" a late night, drunken saloon rhapsody. It meanders between a piano, snare and too much whiskey and cigarettes. Its a great way to close the release, it captures the real meaning of the band, a bunch of friends just letting loose and seeing what can come out.
Overall the cd is quite good, there are some excellent tracks followed by a few duds. I was really hoping for more Alison and less Jack but who am I kidding, Jack silent on a cd, never. The cd is a mix between early Jon Spencer, Nick Cave's Grinderman and Tom Waits. While compared to the latest Kills cd, its a departure and more of a return to form for Alison but it is also a dark and seedier side of Jack and company. It's late nite, bar soaked music, meant to be played loud. It's brash and unapologetic and may surprise some listeners. If it does open up the world to the Kills, I think mission accomplished.
Rating 7.5
Posted by mardenhill 7/13/2009 08:23:00 PM 1 comments
Labels: Music
