"Welcome to the Garden of Eden/ There's nobody here but me and you… Microphone check one-two one-two" – who knew there was power back in 4000 BC?
Frozen Charlotte commences in trademark beguiling Jack White fashion with G.O.D. And The Broken Ribs: strolling bass, chugging organ, drum-rolling solo and sassy, screeching guitar parts. Unholy incantations spew forth, via guitar and vocals.
In the hands of White, bassist Dominic Davis, Hammond organist Bobby Emmett and drummer Patrick Keeler, these instruments sound alive – sometimes acquiescing, other times writhing and fighting back. There’s a sense that the whole thing could derail at any given moment, which amplifies our suspense as the tracks roll out.
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With its irresistible, laidback strut and unhinged organ solo, Derecho Demonico (Spanish for “demonic law”) picks up the instrumental onslaught and bolts with it: “Well, I came to ya on the back of a twister storm/ You know I got something up my sleeve, I guess you’ll have to twist my arm…”
White embodies the essence of rock’n’roll; in a kind of smug way, like he’s keeping all the secrets in the universe and sure as hell won’t tell. His vocal delivery is straining and belligerent, which sounds annoying, but is far from it.
“Well if you know me then you’ll never love me!” – repeated six times in a row – hammers the point home in There’s Nobody There. Raising The Grain unleashes unflinching, dangerous sounds. You’ll Never Fix Me is a kiss-off, backed by thwacking drums and guitars that swirl like voodoo magic doing its thing.
(“I’ll tell ya why, ’cause…”) Nobody Knows – those triple-tracked vocals, though! So satisfying. Listeners get a sense that White delights in his own nothing’s-off-limits wordplay: “From Neanderthals to the Denisovans… Are the homosapiens the future aliens?” – you might wanna keep a dictionary handy.
I Can’t Believe What I’m Hearing opens with The Artful Dodger-style wordsmithery: “Click-clack, backtrack, tick-tock, smack-talk.”
Instrumentally, She’s In A Frenzy sounds exactly like its title. “Can you believe the energy she wasted on the kitchen floor?” – we’ll take that as a sign that doing less housework is hot.
Making Contact alternates with “making content” – geez, he’s good, hey?
During the closing Neighbors Blues, guitar goes even more rogue than usual before an ascending Hammond organ solo takes flight – have mercy!
There’s a timeless quality we’ve come to expect of White’s work. His guitar solos, no matter how brief, have their own distinct narrative arcs. We’re hanging out for a tour announce. These songs are gonna slap live.
Fun fact: White’s Frozen Charlotte sculpture, which appears on the album cover, came about entirely by accident. When a chalkware sailor prize in his recording studio fell to the ground and lost its head, he glued a blue skull shaker percussion instrument into the broken neck and, voila!
Label: Third Man Records
Release: Out now
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