A Lesson In Unusual Music - Jack White's 'Boarding House Reach'

Jack White is one of my favourite musicians in the world, and with three successful bands and an interesting solo career under his belt, he's been able to appeal to such a wide range of audience that with his latest release, it's now somehow hard to figure out what genre White actually falls in to. His claim to fame is obviously 'The White Stripes', being a founding member alongside his former wife, of one year, and fake sister, Meg White. The White Stripes disbanded in 2008, but since then Jack has formed 'The Raconteurs', who are making a comeback this year, 'The Dead Weather', and produced three Solo Albums, the latest of which being 'Boarding House Reach', released in March of 2018, and I don't think 'experimental' is enough to describe how bizarre this record is.

Jack White - Boarding House Reach (2018).

White released his first ever Solo Album, 'Blunderbuss', in 2012, and it's great. His material with The Raconteurs or The Dead Weather was different to that signature White Stripes sound, but their music felt more fleshed out with more instruments and more lyric contributors. Here you still get that 'fuller band' sound, but White's brilliance still shines through with Rock being mixed with Folk and Blues. 'I'm Shakin' is the hit here, a fantastic song with White's strange, dare I call it beat-boxing throughout the song, but it's so good. 'Sixteen Saltines' is your brilliant guitar centred Jack White tune, and is also great. 

In 2014 came my personal favourite Jack White Solo Project, 'Lazaretto'. This Bluesy Rock piece is just brilliant! My favourite track here is ‘High Ball Stepper’, which actually contains no lyrics, but is filled with a repeating violin composition, joined with a beautifully piercing guitar tone that is just fantastic. It really shows what White is capable of, even without f*cking lyrics, it’s ridiculous. That song could also be considered a sign of what was to come on ‘Boarding House Reach’

Jack White performing live in 2014.

So, what exactly is ‘Boarding House Reach’? Well, to record this album, Jack rented an apartment in his native Detroit, and used now retro Recording Methods, like an 8-Track Reel to Reel Recorder. Basically, he aimed to recreate the exact conditions that he experienced when he was a kid, learning to play music, which is an awesome approach. But I’d love to know what the f*ck went down in that apartment. This album, is crazy.

The opener, ‘Connected By Love’ has to be one of the best ‘slow burner’ songs ever! I thought this song was okay when it was the first single released by Jack in four years, and many many people have said they hated it, but it grew massively on them. Me included. A strange track driven by a heavy beat with a choir in the background, as White, seeming almost tearful, works his way through the lyrics with such emotion. It’s a fantastic listen and absolute proof that White’s vocal ability is very unique.

The hits here are ‘Over and Over and Over’, ‘Ice Station Zebra’, and ‘Why Walk A Dog’, the latter there, is phenomenal. I can’t even describe it, just listen. But the weird side of this album comes in the form of ‘Hypermisophoniac’, what, and ‘Humoresque’. That track actually, was made using lyrics written by Al Capone in Alcatraz, it’s a crazy story which he told on Jimmy Fallon, which I won’t link, for risk of being sued by those strict b*stards. These tracks are wild, combing all sorts of instruments with the noises from White’s kids’ toys, and the album also has many spoken word pieces. Some by Jack, some not, it’s honestly an album that you’ll need to listen to the whole way through, multiple times, but it’s so worth it.  

Jack White performing on SNL in 2018.

So, overall, Jack White’s latest release is a bizarre, complicated, yet some would hail it as a masterpiece, album that pushes the boundaries of Rock, Psych and even Hip Hop! Jack White is set to release an album alongside his group, The Raconteurs, this year, and I for one can’t wait. Thank you for reading.