Login for FavoritesThe Dead Weather - Horehound
Tweet
Album Details
- Artist: The Dead Weather
- Album: Horehound
- Label: Third Man
- Year of Release: 2009
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2009-07-21
Media
RecommendIf you had to pick one musician to survive the apocalypse, for me it would most likely be Jack White. No, not a complete musical genius but the man can adapt to almost any music style. If you had one musician making music you would get the most dynamic music from Jack. He's got his White Stripes, Raconteurs, country stuff he did with Loretta Lynn, and now The Dead Weather. The Dead Weather is a new band featuring a couple other members of The Raconteurs and Alison Mosshart from The Kills. Seems like a strange combo, but if you think about it for a minute it really isn't a far cry from any of their day jobs. And really, on first listen I was like "Meh, it's OK". But after a couple listens I really got into the rawness of it.
Your introduction to The Dead Weather's debut, Horehound comes in the form of "60 Feet Tall" with a cool, understated intro, followed by almost a PJ Harvey style vocal presentation from Alison. The song keeps a slow steady build going to it, eventually peaking out and fading back out slightly. Absolutely wonderful. On the following track, "Hang You From The Heaven's" we get a little more gritty with some heavily distorted guitars. It should be noted that Jack is mostly on drums for Horehound. He does a bang up job too. "Treat Me Like Your Mother" is one of Jack's finest vocal moments. He seems to have found a little different style of singing here, a little more aggressive.
The marvel of this feat comes to fruition on the wonderful duet "Rocking Horse" between Mosshart and White. They sound like embattled lovers in a haunted sort of way. Another great change is the instrumental "3 Birds", it's got a little bit of a surf feel to it but quite low key and a nice break.
My suggestion for a perfect Horehound listen it to give it a quick once over then put on your headphones and crank this puppy for the follow-up. You'll be thanking me after that.
User Reviews and Comments
Log In or Register to Rate Albums
User Rating:
Write your own review
Tell us why this album is great or sucks ass, or correct the reviewer. If you write enough quality reviews you may find yourself on the editorial staff.
Reviews have to be over 100 words, shorter ones are classed as comments.
Tell us why this album is great or sucks ass, or correct the reviewer. If you write enough quality reviews you may find yourself on the editorial staff.
Reviews have to be over 100 words, shorter ones are classed as comments.
Log In or Register to Rate AlbumsReview:
on 2009-07-30 muddyfish_uk Said:
The Dead Weather is a joint side project from various artists from The Raconteurs, The Kills and Queens of the Stone Age. Founded by Jack White the project had a lot of expectation riding on it and the huge potential vested in the synergy of its members. The difficulty with reviewing an album comprised of such established musicians is that you can't help but expect certain themes to run through the finished product. Each band member brings with them a precedent from their careers which is hard to disregard when listening to the album. However, the chemistry of the group in this case is such that it all comes together just right so that each member has contributed equally so that it doesn't just sound like say, another Jack White record.
That's not to say that White doesn't shine through, although on this record he takes a back seat, literally speaking on the drums and his vocal contribution gives way to Alison Mosshart in the main. When he does deliver vocals he does so in a far more aggressive manner, which is quite exciting. Check the interplay between the two vocalists on 'Treat Me Like Your Mother'; one of the stand-out tracks on the record in which the sexual energy is almost palpable. This indeed, is the only track in which the song writing duties have been attributed to each member of the band. Again, this is very promising.
The album is full of pulsing bluesy garage rock 'n' roll. Sometimes the music nears a kind of gothic majesty with its tone. There is nothing quiet about this album, apart from the closing track with its mellow acoustic blue theme. 'Horehound' is full of great tracks. '60 Feet Tall' starts the album incredibly well and it continues at a fast pace thereafter, however I feel the production lets it down slightly. While it was obviously engineered to sound like it does and while I appreciate that the gritty effect the production provides is necessary to maintain the theme of 'Horehound', I can't help but wish it was just a little more polished. Just slightly. However, this is a minor niggle and when all things are considered, 'Horehound' is a solid debut from a promising collective.
Rating: 7/10
on 2009-03-18 dscanland Said:
Because the garage is where the magic happens! lol. Good point though. It's what Jack does best, oh and that country album he did with Loretta Lynn was pretty amazing too.
Not Rated
on 2009-03-18 SolitaryMan Said:
Just a question from someone not 100% experienced in things concerning Jack White but...does everything he's involved in musically sound like a professional band trying to take it back to the garage?
Not Rated
on 2009-03-17 dscanland Said:
Jack White has a new band. This time with VV from the Kills. Check out the Dead Weather video for Hang You From The Heavens. Album is due out in June.
Not Rated
