Horehound

Jack White is the master of star projects

The US super group The Dead Weather is a new project of the well-known all over the world musical named Jack White, who was the male part of the duet The White Stripes some time ago. You could also here his name in connection to the band The Raconteurs – and your memory is right, as this rock project was another prodigy by White. Well, now we have the first disc of his brand new miraculous collective - The Dead Weather. This rock band is noticeable not only for being leaded by White, but also for its other members. The lineup really impresses: vocalist Alison Mosshart from The Kills, Jack Lawrence, who was on bass in The Raconteurs, noticed as the part of the command Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Dean Fertita (by the way, he is an organist too) and aforementioned Jack White, who took the drumming place and decided to share the vocal duty with Mosshart. No wonder, the project caught the attention of the public immediately. The debut disc of The Dead Weather was recorded in the best traditions of White’s first collective – that means it took less than a month to finish it and call Horehound. However, the musicians managed to create a high-quality album for such a short period and use many different styles, all of the having been united by the rock of 70s. White decided to stay in the shadows, giving way to the lead vocalist Mosshart, who would astonish us by her powerful and emotional vocals on the whole length of the disc.

Horehound: none of the filling tracks

The long-play opens with the hooky track 60 Feet Tall with the sexual smoky vocals by Mosshart, bluesy guitar riffs and minimalistic, but harsh and impressive drums. The second song on the disc is the duet of the artist and Jack White Hang You From The Heavens. This tune is able to shock you, so organically and fiercely the collaboration of the two musicians sounds. It seems like they were born to sing together. The dark, harsh composition I Cut Like A Buffalo can be called one of the most memorable places on the full-length, so vividly and masterfully it combines the reggae rhythm and unexpected splashes of organ play. The track So Far From Your Weapon was written by Mosshart herself – this composition ideally stresses the vulnerable singer’s vocals, so well known to us from The Kills, with the jazz elements and the drum play. The sexually-themed number Treat Me Like Your Mother became one more brilliant duet between White and Mosshart, on which she demonstrated to the listeners her widest ammunition of sighs, roars and screams, while White unexpectedly refused from the familiar falsetto in favor of the lower timbre. The aggressive, having a dense and electric atmosphere blues rock track New Pone is sure to fall into your memory as an unusual and stylish cover for Bob Dylan’s song. The composition Rocking Horse bares a feasible influence of serf rock, while the instrumental number 3 Birds explores the jazz fields. The album comes to an end with the reluctant balladry piece Will There Be Enough Water?

The collective creativity by The Dead Weather

Well, the new disc by The Dead Weather has a strong slant into the 70-s psychedelia rock stardom, but without the accompanying thickness of the sound (the musicians use the thickness of the atmosphere instead on Horehound) and lengthy jam sets. Due to the unusual energy with the elaborated and minimalistic sound, the disc can be freely called a pop rock record. The main attention of the listeners was concentrated on the voices of Mosshart and White by the band members deliberately. In spite of the fact the earlier White preferred to be in the limelight in the previous two collectives, he eagerly chose the support role in The Dead Weather among the mature musicians. This approach was a fruitful one – the disc Horehound can be boldly called the collective creation, as all the artists took an approximately equal part in its record, including songwriting. The album Horehound became a diverse, but at the same time integral result. It seems like the huge working experience each member of The Dead Weather possesses, had its influence. The disc has no filling material. Each of the songs has its individual features. You can also only admire the musicians that could create such record in three weeks. Having formed the band on the spot, all the collective participants managed to open something unusual and bright in each other, while the disc was in progress, and put in all on the tape. It will be at least a pity if the collaboration does not continue.