The Dead Weather : 'Horehound'
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Released: Out Now!!!
Label: Sony
Super groups are often over-hyped and heralded as amazing before anyone has even heard a split second of what they can do. The Dead Weather however are simply amazing, and once you take a look at the line-up it is very easy to see why. It's like role call of Modern U.S Rock artists. Featuring Jack White (White Strips & The Raconteurs), Jack Lawerence (The Raconteurs & The Greenhornes), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Alison Mosshart (The Kills) you really couldn’t ask for a better line up to produce the next great rock album.
What the band have produced is an album of dirty, filthy, distorted rock that is not afraid to wear its influences on its arm but at the same time manages to produce a sound that is new and refreshing
Vocal duties in the main part are left to Alison Mosshart, a true ‘rock chick’ in every sense of the saying, her vocals are filthily seductive and she confidently takes both screaming and singing. This young lady could soon be knocking on Karen-O’s door asking for the crown to take her places as the Queen of rock.
Vocals aside ‘Horehound’ has something for every type of rock fan that exists, ranging from thrash to prog to material that resembles 90’s grunge. Album stand out ‘Hang you from the Heaven’s' is a rock-anthem in the making, full of manically jagged heavy guitar riffs and heavy drum beats supported by throaty vocals from Mosshart. This song is an obvious choice for the first single from the album and delivers a refreshingly crisp slice of rock. ‘Treat me like your mother’ is a distorted percussion filled track with plenty of angst from both Mosshart and Jack White who also takes vocals. His voice is in trademark form, as wild as ever, he sings menacingly ‘you blink when you breathe and you breathe when you lie’. Like all great artists should, the album also includes a couple of tracks that are purely instrumental, these include the shamelessly experimental sounds of ‘3 Birds’ a sublime song filled to the brim with echoing riffs, piano, acoustic guitar chords and a drum solo.
It would be wrong however to say ‘Horehound’ was an absolute masterpiece, it is not without its fault. The main issue being the possible overuse of distortion, particularly on the vocals, where on certain tracks the distortion is up so high the vocals end up sounding messy, and not in a good way. The album in places is also a little self indulgent, some guitar solos go on for too long and certain songs are built up to a point where they simply get boring, a minute or so could be cut off several tracks to make it a tighter album.
Foibles aside, ‘Horehound’ is a worthy first album from a band that had a great deal to live up to, the band have produced an album that is not only very credible but also a compete joy to listen to.
Words: Kevin Angel
Posts: 2
Reply #1 on : Thu July 14, 2011, 14:04:49
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Posts: 2
Reply #2 on : Wed July 20, 2011, 12:48:34