I'm sure I don't have to be the one to tell you you've probably heard it from dozens of publications, musicians, friends, and critics. Hell, my dad doesn't even listen to much new music, but even he knows that Jack White is nothing short of a musical genius. But genius doesn't go far enough; Jack White is the messiah of Rock and Roll who has come to save us all from the iniquity popular rock music has been committing since before I was born (OK grunge heads, I suppose we can call Cobain a prophet or something).
White's newest release "Sea of Cowards", a second full-length from The Dead Weather, is a throbbing, grinding, bluesy rock album with more punch and panache than anything I've heard since, well, The White Stripe's release earlier this year. White and Allison Mosshart, who co-fronts the band, steer far clear from a sophomore slump and hit the nail right on the head with this one. "Horehound", their first album, was fantastic, but The Dead Weather have really taken off into the stratosphere with "Sea of Cowards". The groove starts right away with a funky distorted bass on the first track, Blue Blood Blues. Soon the guitars start shredding, the Hammond organ starts ringing, and soulfull background vox float over grinding guitar. Mosshart takes over vocal duties for the second jam, Hustle and Cuss, a rocking track reminiscent of the final single from "Horehound", "I Cut Like A Buffalo". Even with such a strong intro the group finds a way to get better, adding dynamic vocal interchanges and electronic sounds for the third track, "The Difference Between Us".
The entire album continues on in a flurry of distortion, guitar virtuosity, and songwriting craftsmanship. Every song is a fist-pumping anthem that will get your body involuntarily moving (in a good way). While not as musically groundbreaking as other Jack White projects, or even the previous Dead Weather release, this album is serious fun and about as perfect for rocking out as it can get.
SIMILAR SONGS
