record review: The Dead Weather - Horehound

The very first track on the album, "60 Feet Tall" will tell you all you need to know about what has to be the year's greatest supergroup release. Listening to the guitar work alone reminded me of watching a live DVD that came with my purchase of Led Zeppelin's Mothership. The album is loud, abrasive, and best of all, sexy in a filthy way that makes one think it ought to be censored by Mormons.

I first heard the album when the band streamed it online a few days ago, and I will admit that it didn't strike me as I thought it would. I really enjoyed the band's singles up until that point, and didn't think that the album as a whole delivered like it should. After all, it's another one of Jack White's projects, and nobody can deny that man's super-human talent. One day, future generations will curse him for being so prolific that they can't keep a tab on all his music. But anyhow, upon listening to the album a second time, I realized that I must not have been paying attention the first time.

The Kills' leading lady Alison Mosshart, who sings most of the songs, has taken up White's signature style, so one cannot complain that Jack himself isn't carrying that load. Lucky for us, he's too busy manning the drums, his very first instrument. Guitarist Dean Ferita (from QOTSA) and Raconteurs' bass man Jack Lawrence deliver spectacularly as well. Horehound is deliberately messy, embracing fuzziness and rejecting any sort of order or cohesion. And miraculously, the band pulls it off.

The strongest track on the album is standout single "Hang You From the Heavens", but the entire album is ace. "Rocking Horse" borrows a little something from Black Lips' "Oh Katrina", and the following track ("New Pony") is actually a Bob Dylan number (from his album Street Legal, which I coincidentally was spinning yesterday), but the remaining songs are strikingly fresh.

Once upon a time, people played The Misfits to scare their younger siblings. These days, Horehound will do the trick. The album was released today, so go out and pick it up.

3.75/5

stream the entire album below:



BONUS: 6 golden tickets are hidden within copies of the album in the US only. Find one and you will win an expense paid trip to Nashville, TN to tour Third Man Records.