Never underestimate Mr Jack White when he puts his mind to a task. He has proven time and time again with White Stripes, The Raconteurs, his label, studio and with the videos he directs that he throws himself wholeheartedly into every new move he makes. The Dead Weather project surprised many who thought he had covered similar territory with The Raconteurs but he showed that he could twist the scenario by shifting his role to the drum stool and bringing in the sultry swagger of The Kills’ Alison Mosshart on vocals. Album #2 is already upon us and White and co stick to the forecast but dig a little deeper and darker on Sea Of Cowards.
On Horehound one of the things that stood out was the similarity between White and Mosshart’s voices. Both sounded like Robert Plant in a bordello and on Sea Of Cowards their singing is even more deeply entwined. You often find yourself listening intently, trying to figure out which of them are taking the lead. Their duets (in the traditional sense) work wonderfully. First single Die By The Drop is a dark and sexy call and response that carries on from where Treat Me Like Your Mother left off on the first album. Mosshart is the assertive figure with White adopting a desperate yelp as he runs along behind her.
The mood throughout Sea Of Cowards is overwhelmingly darker in a psychosexual way. There are shadows of reverb throughout and the grooves are snaking and ominous one minute and brash and intimidating the next. All the while Mosshart is the voodoo blues temptress moaning and wailing her way across the riffage.
When the band does hit the garage rock turbo button on songs like I’m Mad and Jawbreaker the result is raw like an exposed nerve. There is no room for laziness or excess just frenetic electricity igniting Zeppelin-esque blues licks filtered through a Hendrix psych haze. The closest comparison is Yeah Yeah Yeahs when they max out their scuzziest, monolithic rock moments.
Presumably White wrote most of the guitar parts on the album but if Dean Fertita is the one playing them he deserves recognition for his performance, especially on the solo drenched Gasoline and the note bending, stop-start funk of Jawbreaker. Along with increased use of the organ and keyboard sounds that featured on Horehound Fertita’s playing (both the loud and quieter moments) stands out as one of the more compelling elements of The Dead Weather’s signature gothic blues sound.
White is of course never content to just sit at the back of the band and he steps up to the mic often. He takes the lead vocal on Looking At The Invisible Man with it’s warped riff, crackling and threatening to dissolve into static. ‘Wave your hands in the dark woman, like you know what you’re talking about’ sings White, continuing his keen eye for lyrical analogies and the blues tradition of innuendo and double entendre.
Sea Of Cowards builds nicely on the template established on their debut and does contain many sonic twists and tripwires but it leaves them with a catch 22 dilemma about their next move. Without a drastic shift they could become locked in the same holding pattern which won’t advance their cause even if they are still writing great songs. For the time being they have comprehensively dispelled any accusations of The Dead Weather being a side project dalliance.
Sea Of Cowards consolidates and sharpens their attack with a ruthless efficiency and though it is more of the same, fans will accept it willingly.
This review first appeared on FasterLouder
Doubtful Sounds 