[rating=4.00]
From the cosmic freak blues of the Horehound opener “60 Feet Tall” to the surf guitar warble of “Rocking Horse” The Dead Weather’s first offering is a satisfying effort. There is a sparseness, present throughout, that places this newest Jack White assembled offering somewhere between his White Stripe self constructed limits and The Raconteurs classic rock leanings. The group is rounded out by Dean Fertita, Jack Lawrence, and Alison Mosshart who catch onto simple riffs and lyrics embellishing them with fuzz, scratches and screeches. The most successful tracks are the heaviest ones; “Hang You from the Heavens”, “Treat Me Like Your Mother” and their cover of Bob Dylan’s “New Pony” all of which border on metal and are enlivened by Mosshart’s confident vocals. The enigmatic lyrics and dark funk/hip-hop tinge on “I Cut Like A Buffalo” is engaging and will cause repeated listens to figure out what hell White means with, “You know I look like a women/but I cut like a buffalo/Stand up like a tower/Then I fall just like a domino”. For those who maybe questioning White’s choice to play drums, don’t, the skins are pounded with power and precision throughout.
The one down side to this new group’s first effort is its repetitiveness; lyrics run in circles and musical ideas show up multiple times. When “No Hassle Night” arrives towards the end it feels like you have heard this song all ready earlier on the album. That complaint washes away though when Jack picks up the guitar on the closing “Will There Be Enough Water” and Horehound finishes with its feet firmly planted in the dirty blues, like true roots they are.
