Jack White
No Name
Third Man Records
Listen Below
There aren’t many people alive who embody the spirit of rock & roll as much as Jack White does. From co-founding the vinyl-centric independent record label Third Man Records, maintaining buzz around his off-beat fashion choices, and creating a full mystique surrounding his groundbreaking band The White Stripes, White has stirred countless discussions in the genre over the past twenty years.
When you include the fact that his fingers have stroked some of the most recognizable guitar riffs in recent memory, White’s career stands as a cemented flag, assuring that the sound and attitude of unadulterated rock will endure for future generations of music fans.
Returning to his earlier blues punk sound for No Name, White delivers what he perhaps does best, captivating audiences with his strong vocals and command of the guitar. Having received some harsh reviews for some of his previous projects, the veteran White returns for his sixth solo LP highly motivated and perhaps even a bit angry.
His guitar handling and vocals aggressively attack the microphone over the album’s first three tracks—“Old Scratch Blues,” “Bless Yourself,” and “That’s How I’m Feeling.” The aggression is very much a welcomed shot of adrenaline in the drowsy climate of contemporary rock, and is reminiscent of why we fell in love with White as the frontman of The White Stripes in the early 2000’s.
Listen to the Album:
No Name’s intensity doesn’t let off but mellows with the groovy “It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking).” It’s then followed by one of the album’s standouts—which are hard to pinpoint in this LP devoid of fillers—in “Archbishop Harold Holmes.” White summons his Mississippi Delta influenced, storefront preacher alter-ego to deliver a song that is different from anything across the musical landscape right now. The guitar work is so well placed, along with the drums and White’s vocals.
“Bombing Out” is the album’s fast-paced punk jam session. “What’s the Rumpus?” is the closest No Name gets to delivering a high-energy radio friendly hit like one of The White Stripes’ signature songs that rock football stadiums on NFL game days or resurface as the theme of a Chevy commercial.
The rest of No Name settles on the classic rock sound that made White one of the pioneering voices of the garage rock revival movement twenty years ago. All around, No Name is effective at everything a veteran musician needs an album, twenty years into their career, to be. First, and foremost, it shows that White can still jam with an ensemble cast of musicians. Musically, it could not be more succinct. It’s mixed and produced with a perfect simplicity that makes the digital release sound as if you a listening to a vinyl press.
Additionally, it further cements White as one of the most important figures in modern rock. On a personal level for White, No Name is a beautiful ode to Detroit’s punk blues legacy. For the rest of us, No Name does what The White Stripes’ White Blood Cells (2001) did for rock over twenty years ago—it gives the genre a hard kick in the butt and makes us take notice, once again, of a true rock star.
Notable Tracks: “Archbishop Harold Holmes” | “It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking)” | “What’s the Rumpus?”
LISTEN: