JACK WHITE
BLUNDERBLUSS
(Third Man Records)
****

Jack White is one of the hardest working dudes in music. His many awesome side-projects on his label Third Man Records have given us some of the best albums of the last few years. So while it’s strange that the man himself has never released a solo album until now, the timing makes absolute sense. A year has passed since the break up of The White Stripes and Blunderbuss is here to fill the void.

It’s all here, White’s trademark pitch-bending, fuzz guitar, his new drumming chops complete with crashing 70’s cymbals and cowbells and choruses that invite the listener to sing the words along with him. Stand out tracks include the catchy as fuck Love Interruption and opener Missing Pieces has a groove and guitar solo that’ll appease any White fan.

But at times it does feel like a collection of B-sides from his side-projects, though great B-sides. Sixteen Saltines is a Brendan Benson away from a Raconteurs track, Freedom At 21 is an Alison Mosshart away from being a Dead Weather tune. This doesn’t so much detract from the experience, and really just highlights how strong a songwriter White is in his bands, but also I can’t help but feel that if he’d released this album a few years ago it would have hit harder and perhaps he diluted some of his trademark sounds. Fingers crossed that this is just the first album of many.

_TOM VARIAN