Sure, I’m lonely. Sure, it sucks, but something I discovered recently may have changed my perspective a little. Because the truth is, I’ve become accustomed to loneliness, to the point where I’ve gone back to being an introverted person. I have a close circle of friends who mean the world to me, but anything else that comes in damages my sense of content in the world. Though there’s one relationship I think I’ll always crave, I really have to stop seeking them. For the time being. Until I figure out how to move past my perfect lonely solace.
ALBUM REVIEW: Jack White - Blunderbuss
In this age of shifting power balance between corporations and ‘pirates’, saturated markets and dime-a-dozen indie rock groups, it takes a hell of a lot to stay relevant, especially when you’ve been consistently releasing music for well over a decade. But Jack White remains one of rock’s most defiantly savvy, forward-thinking rock stars, and deserves his place at the top of the alt-rock ladder. Blunderbuss is hardly Jack’s first barbecue, and fans of The White Stripes, the Dead Weather, the Raconteurs and even that Danger Mouse/Danielle Lupi collab that came out last year will doubtlessly consider it a worthy addition to his canon.
Moving into what boffins are calling his ‘blue period’, Jack has put a slight twist on his White Stripes policy of enforced limitation, still creating stripped-back, minimalistic songs with plenty of drive, but he comes off slightly neutered on Blunderbuss. Jack plays to his strengths well enough, but I don’t feel this album quite lived up to my expectations. It’s not the White Stripes, but that’s not what I was expecting.
The more fleshed-out sound suits Jack well, don’t get me wrong, but this album took far too long to get off the ground. ‘Missing Pieces’ is very cleverly written, telling a story about a girl literally taking his body parts with her when she leaves him, but it deserved so much more, sonically, and ultimately breezes by. We were quite spoiled by the two tracks dropped before the album, ‘Sixteen Saltines’ is a balls-out rocker worthy of the White Stripes more powerful moments, but even it doesn’t match the magnificence of ‘Love Interruption’, where Jack duets brilliantly with a female singer in a subtle ballad about loss and bitterness. It’s the second half of the record where things start to get really interesting, thus far it’s been plodding along, showing a few duds (the title track is tragically unmemorable) and a few diamonds, but after ‘Weep Themselves to Sleep’, we see the true power of Jack’s Blunderbuss, with the excellent, super-catchy and witty ‘Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy’ (holy shit, is that a detailed drumbeat backing Jack up? and those keys…) the Rudy Toombs cover ‘I’m Shakin’ is definitive proof (if any more was needed) that Jack would have made it huge as a bluesman in the earlier half of the 20th century.
So overall, this record is a bit spotty, but still a great listen, especially the second half. If you’re expecting the White Stripes reincarnate, you will be a bit disappointed, but you’ll find plenty to love here. Heavy on the ballads, light on the rockers, it’s Jack White refusing to rest on his laurels, and that’s always going to be worth listening to
RATING: 7/10
BEST TRACKS: ‘Sixteen Saltines’, ‘Love Interruption’, ‘Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy’
Jumping around my bedroom with my bass to Rage Against the Machine trying not to think about you. So far it’s working, but only in the parts I’m actually playing bass. So the secret to not thinking about you is playing bass, or is it a combination of the above?
I have a new obsession, and that obsession is the TV show Community
Definitive proof that Americans can be funny as all fuck too.
