Released - 7/14/09
Label - Third Man / Warner Bros.
BLURB - Meh...I'm indifferent on this. But I'll say this...this is what music should be. The Dead Weather formed after an impromptu jam session. The four-some then, without haste, decided to write for three weeks, record the album, and release it. Now that is the good life. The supergroup known as, 'The Dead Weather' brings together members of The White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, The Raconteurs and The Kills. It's certainly a different look and feel with the band's most recognizable face, Jack White, positioned squarely behind the drum set. The record is fairly straightforward rock with some indie and more alternative wanderings. I'm sure, just based on the clientele, I should say this is amazing and rock is back, but Kings of Leon already brought rock back. With that being said, this isn't too terrible (but still terrible) and there are some awesome tracks on here, but you're going to have to skip around to find them...
Rating - 4.5 out of 10
FULL STORY - 'I Cut Like a Buffalo' is easily the best song on the record. Massive organs flood the verses and choruses and for some reason it provides me with a sped up rock interpretation of reggae. The organs jab at the beat and offer up a sweet little riff every 20 seconds or so. 'Treat Me Like Your Mother' is another solid track with heavy guitars lines and an outstanding bridge. The whole song is about being manipulated and tricked, as a child would attempt to do to his mother, see also the verse, 'Look me in the eye now, you wanna try to tell a lie? You can't and you know why? I'm just like your mother.' This sounds amazing coming from a fiery Alison Mosshart (The Kills) and I'm convinced to be on my best behavior now. There is so much energy and forward momentum to this song, it's very captivating. After the bridge there is a very brief and simple, yet tantalizing solo that adds another dimension to the song, as short as it may be.
'New Pony' is also fairly noteworthy. It should be known that I regard any song that opens with, 'I had a pony, her name was Lucifer' to be noteworthy. Some vintage fuzz guitars add a 60's vibe to this track and really feels like it could be a Janis Joplin tune. 'Bone House' follows up 'New Pony' and does so nicely. We get our first shot of what sounds like a synthesizer here, along with screeching, high pitched guitars. Mosshart shouting vocals, only makes the song more dynamic and raw.
What's sad is that aside from these four tracks, I find the record unlistenable. There is so much dabbling and experimenting, and there are very few specific instances when you can actually hear the four of them click. I understand that this is pretty much an experimental record to mess around with some friends, but with Jack White I expected a little bit more. Once, '60 Feet Tall' starts it's a pretty good opener to the disc, but it takes forever to get going, and then abruptly loses all of it's steam as it goes into, 'Hang You From the Heavens,' which fails to go anywhere. 'Hang You From the Heavens' is the same two riffs over and over and over again, stretching the definition of redundancy to it's ends. The same can be said about, 'So Far From Your Weapon.' To me, it's just boring. The whole tracks is just drums, with very limited instrumentation, and really prevents the listener from playing the record without skipping forward.
'Rocking Horse' and '3 Birds' continue the monotony with the latter being lyric-less. As the album draws near it's conclusion, the audience will certainly be looking for a closing track that will knock their socks off...we've been waiting long enough. Predictably, this doesn't come. 'Will There Be Enough Water?' finds itself lost in a painfully slow fusion of country, rock and blues. As it approaches the seven minute mark, it seems like the track will never end, but alas it does, when I hit the stop button after four dreadful minutes.
If you have an extra ten bucks laying around I would not recommend buying this record. Get a six pack of Dogfishhead Ale, it's a more sound investment. 'Horehound' will likely get positive reviews for being experimental and having a 'nice' fusion of sounds. Anything that is associated with Jack White will be ripe for critical acclaim, as it should, he's a genius...just not on this record. Definitely check out some of the songs and decide for yourself, but as an avid enthusiast of just about all music genres, I found, 'The Dead Weather's' debut disc to be a tough listen and difficult to get through in it's entirety.
Tracks
1.) 60 Feet Tall
2.) Hang You From the Heavens
3.) I Cut Like a Buffalo
4.) So Far From Your Weapon
5.) Treat Me Like Your Mother
6.) Rocking Horse
7.) New Pony
8.) Bone House
9.) 3 Birds
10.) No Hassle Night
11.) Will There Be Enough Water?
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