The Dead Weather's Debut Album Horehound

When we first heard that Jack White (White Stripes) was teaming up with Alison Mosshart (The Kills) to form a supergroup we we're overjoyed. The Dead Weather was quickly formed soon after with Jack White sitting mostly behind the drum kit, Dean Fertita (QOTSA) shredding riffs on the guitar, Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs) providing the bass lines and the sexy Alison Mosshart on vocals and guitar. The Dead Weather began touring earlier this year and Horehound, their first album, is scheduled to be released this coming Tuesday (July 14, 2009).

We had the opportunity to listen to Horehound recently and there's no doubt in our minds that "The Dead Weather" is the best new rock band of 2009. The album consists of 11 tracks (or 12 if you're pre-ordering through iTunes) and each one is unique in its own way; This isn't one of those rock albums where everything sounds the same. Horehound begins with "60 Feet Tall"; a guitar riff kicks in followed by the bass line and Alison says "You're so cruel and shameless but I can't leave you be". Each of the four members has their chance to shine throughout the album and it won't take long to realize how talented they all are. The band swaps instruments between songs so don't be surprised if you notice some radical changes from one track to the next.

The only song not written by The Dead Weather is their take on Bob Dylan's "New Pony". What they've done to the song is nothing short of remarkable. This is a much more modernized, louder and diversified version of the Dylan's classic while somehow still managing to stay true to the original. Unlike Dylan's song which had a male leader singer and women as the backup singers, The Dead Weather have inverted the genders this time around. The guitar portions from the original are still in but there's also a lot more bass and drumming; it's much more intense.

Verdict

It's refreshing to hear an album that hasn't been put through voice auto-tuning and hasn't been remastered to hell and back. The songs are pretty damn raw but they are each great and unique in their own way. The tiny imperfections (there are very few of them) can be heard and they give Horehound a certain bit of charm and character that is lacking from many other recently released records. Overall, we highly recommend the album to any rock or blues fan out there. The best part is that their album is temporarily available for a free listen on iLike. Pick it up on Tuesday when it hits both physical and digital stores.