.The Dead Weather

Horehound

Calling Jack White prolific is like saying that people are a bit
peeved over healthcare. With the Dead Weather, the erstwhile White
Stripe barely let the embers of the Raconteurs go cold before returning
to his roots as a drummer and jumping into bed with bass-playing
Raconteurs bandmate Jack Lawrence, Queens of the Stone Age
guitarist/organist Dean Fertita, and Kills vocalist Alison Mosshart.
The resulting collection of songs traffics in skuzzy, blues-rock that
White imbues with foreboding sonic nuances. He is very much a force
here, especially given the sexually charged chemistry he forges with
Mosshart throughout. The splash of a hi-hat and tom tom rolls may be
all you hear of White amid the fuzz-guitar leadenness of “Hang You From
the Heaven,” but it gibes perfectly with Mosshart snarling, “I like to
grab you by the hair/And drag you to the devil.”

Flickering riffs and a plodding tempo play into the gradual buildup
of the opener “60 Feet Tall,” whereas the vibe of “Rocking Horse” is
Southern Gothic spaghetti western. Mosshart provides plenty of swagger
herself, applying a subtle growl to the hypnotic vibe of “So Far From
Your Weapon” before playing the role of forbidden fruit amid the acid
rock tete-a-tete that is “Treat Me Like Your Mother.” Elsewhere, the
Dead Weather not only put Bob Dylan’s “New Pony” through a Blue
Cheer-like filter but get is space-rock freak on via the instrumental
“3 Birds,” which has a Primal Scream tint to it circa The Vanishing
Point
. This kind of artistic indulgence rarely pays off so
handsomely. (Third Man/Warner Brothers)

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