Albums to watch

Horehound

The Dead Weather

Horehound

Debut from the alt.rock supergroup comprising Jack White, the Kills singer, the Queens of the Stone Age guitarist and the Raconteurs bassplayer

ADM rating[?]

6.8

Label
Columbia
UK Release date
13/07/2009
  1. 8.0 |   Clash

    The appeal of ‘Horehound’ is found in the sheer balls of its creation. It’s dense but not impenetrable; it’s raw but not unhinged; it’s ferocious but not disturbing. Ironically, I bet The Dead Weather had such fun recording ‘Horehound’. I mean, who wouldn’t? Deep, scuzzy blues has never been so good!
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  2. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    Like everything he touches, The Dead Weather belong to White. They're more in tune with The White Stripes' animal thrill than The Raconteurs' sweeping musicality
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  3. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    According to recent interviews with the foursome, there is a Dead Weather follow-up on the way. And right now, when he is on such outstanding form as this playing away from home, we're in no real rush for Jack White to return to his day job. More of this and soon please
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  4. 8.0 |   The Scotsman

    Refreshing that a major rock star such as White doesn't fuss around with perfection, but remains a spontaneous operator who just likes to get it down and get it out. If the results are not as devastating as other chapters of his career, then so be it.
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  5. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    There’s some exhilarating stuff: I Cut Like a Buffalo’s robust groove; a raucous, call-and- response take on Dylan’s New Pony; the atmospheric maritime prayer, Will There Be Enough Water? White’s time-wasting, if that it be, still shapes up as more substantial than almost any other contemporary rock
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  6. 8.0 |   The Observer

    There's much to be said, then, for trying new stuff rather than sitting back and enjoying your pre-eminence; let's hope Jack White continues to do so
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  7. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    An excellent album of sex sweat, bourbon breath, gun smoke and guitar sleaze
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  8. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    While the Dead Weather might not necessarily surpass the accomplishments of its impressive pedigree, it’s certainly more uncompromising, brutal, menacing, honest. And if those aren’t the exact qualities society latched onto when they heard that first 12-bar chord progression ring out from the swamps of the deep south and branded it the Devil’s music, then let the good Lord strike me down right where I stand
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  9. 7.5 |   Pitchfork

    The songs on Horehound don't so much rock as writhe, reinstituting the idea of the blues as a sinister, morally corrupting force that's as much the province of voodoo priests and witch doctors as musicians
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  10. 7.0 |   The Quietus

    A complex affair, and indeed displays dour and downright depressing moments, but largely makes for a crackling listen, snapping and popping at you from the off. It elevates, disturbs, annoys and settles the soul in equal measures
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  11. 7.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    It's easily the best thing the quartet's lead singer has ever done, given that she's Alison Mosshart of the mostly dire Kills, and the same can be said of bassist Jack Lawrence, given that he's been recruited from White's other other band, the somewhat tedious (c'mon, let's be honest) Raconteurs
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  12. 7.0 |   No Ripcord

    This is music that is close to White’s heart, which we already knew. But it also seems to be dear to Mosshart and the rest of the band. That is good news for these guys, and will hopefully spell very, very good things for their next album
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  13. 7.0 |   No Ripcord

    Sea Of Cowards sounds like the record Jack White’s been trying to make for a long time
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  14. 6.0 |   Observer Music Monthly

    White can clearly make these kind of records in his sleep. There's no faulting his instincts, his musicianship or his commitment to pushing out music of quality.
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  15. 6.0 |   The Times

    Better than the best of the Kills but slightly worse than the worst of the White Stripes
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  16. 6.0 |   Q

    Print edition only

  17. 6.0 |   Scotland on Sunday

    White remains a thrilling talent. Mosshart's credibility could have received the biggest boost from working with him, then she renamed herself Baby Ruthless for this project. Oh dear
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  18. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    You listen to Treat Me Like Your Mother or No Hassle Night and wish they'd spent longer than the much-vaunted fortnight making Horehound; you'd sacri?ce some immediacy for better-crafted songs
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  19. 6.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    A garage-fuzzy blues-rock LP with a hard rock heart and the odd bit of wonky experimentation
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  20. 6.0 |   The Independent

    White contributes a half-decent rap to ""I Cut Like a Buffalo"", but his finest moment comes in ""Will There Be Enough Water?"", when he swaps drums for some nimble resophonic guitar picking that sets the track apart from the rest of Horehound, and confirms where his real strength lies
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  21. 5.0 |   NME

    The title and the photos of them looking like dirty stop-outs who¹d been pulled through a deep thicket backwards suggested this was to be a decadent, seedy incarnation. The reality is as fucked-up and sexy as a night out in baggy combat shorts racing shopping trolleys into bushes
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  22. 4.0 |   The Irish Times

    White is either too vain to appreciate the fallacy of such an exercise, or too wrapped up in his own profligacy to calm down and realise that sometimes less is more
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The Dead Weather: Horehound

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  • 1. 60 Feet Tall N/A
  • 2. Hang You From The Heavens N/A
  • 3. I Cut Like A Buffalo N/A
  • 4. So Far From Your Weapon N/A
  • 5. Treat Me Like Your Mother N/A
  • 6. Rocking Horse N/A
  • 7. New Pony N/A
  • 8. Bone House N/A
  • 9. 3 Birds N/A
  • 10. No Hassle Night N/A
  • 11. Will There Be Enough Water? N/A
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