Review Summary: You thrill and fill this heart of mine.
Jack, you crafty bastard. Your last two albums were solid exercises in blues rock revivalism for sure (
Blunderbuss more so than its successor), but this? This is straight out of left field. Right now, rock music might be the weakest and most vulnerable it has ever been in its long and storied history. Gone is the sense of adventure, gone is the pushing of boundaries in the mainstream sphere. Instead bands have resorted to desperate trend chasing, following and not leading. In the last year, artists such as 30 Seconds to Mars, Muse, Fall Out Boy and Linkin Park have all abandoned their traditional (albeit mainstream) rock roots in favour of a more watered down electronic sound- the results ranging from forgettable to downright awful. Everyone wants to sound like Imagine Dragons and in the process, bands such as these are abandoning any distinct or identifiable traits they may have once had.
And that brings us to Jack, who frankly isn’t having any of that. He has nothing to prove and clearly has no interest in pandering to the lowest common denominator. Instead he’s using his name, reputation and influence to expose listeners to a new world of experimentation and creativity. From the menacing piano led “Why Walk a Dog” to the vocoder tinged 70s prog inspired “Get in the Mindshaft”,
Boarding House Reach is the sound of Jack White venturing into previously uncharted territory in his career. Nothing is off limits as we hear the Willy Wonka of rock lose his mind, and have a blast doing it.
Opener “Connected by Love” is the only track on the album that feels like it veers into making concessions for the watered down modern rock crowd with its driving bass synth, and as the lead single it admittedly left me and many others slightly concerned for the album. But the abrupt, chirpy choral vocals and batshit chorus breakdown towards the latter half of the song keep things interesting and create enough intrigue and excitement for what’s to come.
Boarding House Reach establishes from the outset that this is a side of White’s music we haven’t seen before, and that the days of safe blues revivalism are seemingly over. The nature of consumerism and the relationship between art and artist are frequently explored and nowhere is this more prevalent than on album highlight “Corporation”, which sees Jack at his most unrestrained, spazzing out and screaming behind a jaunty piano lead and spritely percussion. “Hypermisophoniac” on the other hand sounds like a
Lazaretto track off its meds, a rising and falling programmed sample alternating between channels as Jack rants and raves about being triggered into a manic episode by loud sounds. The double tracking of Jack’s regular and pitch-shifted vocals creates a genuinely disorienting effect probably not dissimilar to how a misophoniac would feel around a chorus of jackhammers.
This is immediately followed by the dizzying “Ice Station Zebra”, led by a fiddly bassline as Jack (sort of) raps whilst being undercut by sporadic and abrasive drum flourishes. Here the theme of creativity is explored, with Jack lecturing listeners on how everything is technically influenced by works preceding it and tracing this back must mean we’re all “copying God”. It’s a ridiculous sentiment but there is an air of irony in the lyrics to suggest we shouldn’t be taking this completely seriously, and the message of not worrying about which box you’re placed in because it is inevitable resonates in an age where everything needs to be categorised by genre and sound. With its idiosyncratic sound,
Boarding House Reach seems to be kicking against the pricks and “Ice Station Zebra” may very well be its mission statement.
For those still lamenting the dissolution of the White Stripes, Jack has you covered with the pounding, energising “Over and Over and Over”. Thrilling from start to finish, the track has clear influences of instrumental hip hop and Rage Against the Machine as Jack forcefully delivers his vocals behind one hell of a lead riff. Apparently, this is a song that Mr. White has been toying around with for years, originally not making the cut for one of the White Stripe’s records before failing to come to fruition as a Jay-Z collaboration. The jazzy improvisational drum breaks are arguably Jack wearing his love for a Tribe Called Quest on his sleeve and the track manages to own all these influences whilst still sounding completely unique and fresh. Without a doubt one of the best offerings from
Boarding House Reach, and its ability to harken back to Jack’s White Stripes days whilst still fitting perfectly in the tracklist is a feat to be commended.
Strange interludes such as “Abula and Akrasia”, “Esmerelda Steals the Show” and “Everything You’ve Ever Learned” are effective as tasters for various instrumental and lyrical ideas and manage to offer these samples of sound without killing the excellent flow of the album. “Respect Commander” feels the most improvisational of all the songs, with stuttering basslines and wild drums leading the first half of the track before Jack Slows things down and the programmed drums come in. The number of shifts and movements it goes through in a mere four and a half minutes is astounding, and the lyrical content of making respecting women sound sexy and kinky is just one interesting angle of many on the album.
Every single thing about this situation says I can't be wrong, and every time she gets her satisfaction I want her to control me all night long
Proceedings end with the lyrically pitch black “What’s Done is Done”, a country duet with Esther Rose that somehow isn’t horrendous given how many popular artists are jumping on and butchering the Nashville sound right now (looking at you, manly man of the woods Timberlake). Both artists involved have a clear love for the sound, and this is reflected in the earnestness and sweet instrumentation carrying the dark themes of the lyrics. A sparse drum machine, simple guitar lines and perfect vocal harmonies take the song to its conclusion, which brings us to “Humouresque”. An oddity of a song, it features lyrics originally written by Al Capone and sung as close to the mic as possible to the tune of Antonin Leopold Dvořák's original composition. It absolutely should not work, but Jack pulls it off to bring the album to a chill-inducing conclusion.
Is
Boarding House Reach going to spark some musical revolution of biblical proportions? Don't be silly. In the age of instant music access, it seems less and less likely for such things to happen. Regardless, it’s a lean, exciting album that doesn’t let up from the first synth buzz to the final piano note. It may divide listeners, but those with the patience and open mind Jack clearly wants could very well treasure it for years to come as a beacon of light in an otherwise dark time for rock music. And if you’re of the persuasion that it’s a load of self-indulgent nonsense, at least “Over and Over” gives you a new riff to practice at your local (probably soon to close) Guitar Centre.
