The legendary Jack White has had a career that has been fascinating to follow. It feels like he has had many iterations and reincarnations in his image and artistry since he first rose to prominence with the White Stripes about 25 years ago. When Jack White first broke through, he was known for a very raw and harsh Garage/Punk Rock sound. The White Stripes were about as gruff and gnarly as anyone in Indie Rock at the time; their fuzzy, lo-fi sound is what made them so unique and appealing. After leaving The White Stripes, Jack White slowly gravitated away from that rough sound. Starting with Blunderbuss in 2012, Jack White’s solo music has become progressively more Bluesy and Folksy. 2014’s Lazaretto and 2018’s Boarding House Reach have experimental Blues styles that can honestly be compared to no one. These two albums are revered for their creativity, as they somehow sound retro and futuristic at the same time. Jack White continued the Experimental Blues sound, albeit in a harder fashion, on both of his 2022 records, Fear of the Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive. Although I certainly do appreciate this innovative Blues sound that Jack White has been making over the last 15 years, I have always hoped at some point he would return to the more Punk sound he began his career with. Surprisingly, we are getting that with Jack White’s surprise new album, No Name. This album is as acute as anything he has released since The White Stripes broke up many years ago. Here is how I feel about this out-of-the-blue new Jack White record. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from Jack White’s No Name, and also comment on how you feel about it as a whole.
‘Old Scratch Blues’ immediately feels rougher and tougher than much of the music Jack White has released in recent memory. The melody for this one is so dirty. It has a nasty Blues tone that will make you grit your teeth when it comes on. The drum pattern hits so hard and switches tempo multiple times, keeping the listener on their toes. The instrumentation on this song is so grainy in the best way. The mix makes this track sound like it was recorded in someone’s garage for fun, which I absolutely love. Jack White’s high, raspy pitch on this track gives it an interesting texture and makes the instrumentation feel even grittier. ‘Old Scratch Blues’ is a great way to start this record, and it shows Jack White definitely still has the sauce. ‘Bless Yourself’ has a bigger and bolder sound than the song that precedes it. The guitar riff that drives this one has such a 1980s Hair Metal feeling; when I hear this vivid and bold riff, I think of artists like Def Leppard or even Led Zeppelin. The drums that provide the best for this one absolutely pound as well. When paired with the best, they give this one a larger-than-life feeling. I really enjoy the shrill vocals from Jack White, as they match the track’s huge energy. ‘Bless Yourself’ is an even more intense track than the opener and continues the looming momentum. ‘That’s What I’m Feeling’ is a song that slightly calms down the mood of the first two songs of the album. This one still has a pretty raucous Punk sound, but it is not quite as grainy and Metal as the songs that precede it. The main guitar riff that drives this one has a decidedly Retro Punk sound to it. When I hear this riff, I think of artists like New Order or The Talking Heads. The beat for ‘That’s How I’m Feeling’ is just as groovy as the melody. It is hard not to want to dance to this one because of how funky its melody and tempo are. When the hook on ‘That’s How I’m Feeling’ comes in, the guitar riff and drums get bigger and more brash, giving the song a tough element that gives it some texture. Jack White’s vocals on ‘That’s What I’m Feeling’ are a bit more subdued than they are on the first two tracks. His vocals match the free and easy feeling of the instrumental so nicely and make this song all the more welcoming. ‘That’s What I’m Feeling’ is a palatable Punk song with a Pop tint that I could totally see taking off and becoming big. The intense and gritty Blues Rock sound we got on the opener comes back on ‘It’s Rough On Rats(If You’re Asking).’ This is the most complex song on the record so far. Whereas the first three tracks had more of a straightforward style of instrumental, everything about this one is a bit more convoluted. The melody for ‘It’s Rough On Rats(If You’re Asking)’ is very intricate. Jack White is certainly in his bag on this one. The guitar riff that drives this song is so technical, and it has a flare that will get any Rock’s fans head bobbing when it comes on. The drums on this track have such a crashing feeling to them. There is an almost intrepid element to this song because of how hard the drums are played and how they mesh with the melody. The guitar solo we get on the bridge for ‘It’s Rough On Rats(If You’re Asking)’ is just wild. This guitar solo has so much grit and gives this song a super nasty edge. Jack White’s vocals on ‘It’s Rough On Rats(If You’re Asking)’ are just as eccentric as the instrumental. He certainly does a great job of amplifying the song’s crazy sound. ‘It’s Rough On Rats(If You’re Asking)’ is an intense and fun banger where Jack White exhibits his guitar-playing prowess majorly.
‘Archbishop Harold Holmes’ sonically is probably the tamest song on the record so far. The guitars and drums are not as wide-ranging as they have been on the first four tracks. This song has a very straightforward melody and tempo. The guitar riff that drives this one chugs along like a muscle car, and the drums have the same feeling. Even though ‘Archbishop Harold Holmes’ is a bit more simple than the tracks that precede it, this track is still very enjoyable. I would say the best thing about ‘Archbishop Harold Holmes’ is the vocals from Jack White. For as mild as the instrumental is(compared to what precedes it), the vocals are all the more screechy and all over the place. ‘Archbishop Harold Holmes’ is not sonically the most pushy song on this record, but this is made up for with the vivid vocal performance. Following the most “mellow” song on the record we get the most anxious and harsh song we have gotten so far in ‘Bombing Out.’ Everything about this song is scratchy, lo-fi, and intense. The mix on this one is extremely muffled; it has the kind of grating sound that makes me think of a local Punk show in someone’s backyard. The guitar riff that drives this one is so chunky. The amount of distortion almost drowns out the melody, giving this song a fast-paced Alt Metal sound that just makes me want to headbang. The drum pattern for ‘Bombing Out’ is rapid and rough; it takes the already audacious sound of the melody and amplifies it so much. The vocals on ‘Bombing Out’ actually get drowned out a bit, but that is okay. The lack of clarity in the vocals adds to the underground feeling of the track, which I enjoy a ton. ‘Bombing Out’ has such a DIY Punk feeling to it that I dig a ton. After what is definitely the roughest song of the record so far we get the most clean sounding one in ‘What’s The Rumpus?’ That is not saying a ton, because this song still has a very jagged sound. ‘What’s The Rumpus?’ is a track that returns to the old-school Hard Blues Rock sound that we were getting at the beginning of the record. The guitar riff for this one has a funky and grainy sound that immediately made me think of artists like ZZ Top or Ted Nugent. With the guitar riff being so sludgy and heavy, I would expect the drums to be the same. This is not the case with ‘What’s The Rumpus?’ The lighter way in which the drums are played puts more emphasis on the guitar riff, making it feel all the more tough. Like the drums, Jack White’s vocals on ‘What’s The Rumpus?’ are pretty understated. Like the drums, this makes the melody sound all the more riveting. ‘What’s The Rumpus?’ is not the more energetic song on the record, but it does still make an impact because of how gritty its guitar riff is.
‘Tonight(Was A Long Time Ago)’ is a song that seems to fuse a couple of the styles of music we have seen on the record to this point. The pacing and drums for this one have a Punk feeling to them, but the guitar riff is very Bluesy. This is the kind of track where Jack White is completely in his bag. Early in his career, he was very good at fusing elements of Old School Rock with new-school Punk, and this is a song where we see that. Jack White delivers one of his most eccentric vocal performances on the record on this one; the range and emphasis in his vocals make ‘Tonight(Was A Long Time Ago) hit extra hard. Because of its tempo and style of melody, if one were to tell me that ‘Tonight(Was A Long Time Ago)’ is a throwaway song from his days with The White Stripes, I may actually believe them. ‘Underground’ is a track with a feeling that is honestly nothing like any of the preceding tracks. For one, ‘Underground’ has a brighter sound than pretty much anything before it; the tone of the guitar riff that drives this one has a very sunny element to it. The melody does have a bit of a Bluesy Tone, but the tempo and overall feel of the track sort of have a bit of a 1990s Reggae Punk Rock sound. When I hear this one, I am reminded of the harder music from bands like Rancid or 311. The vocals on this song are great, but the best thing about ‘Underground’ is the guitar solo we get on the bridge. This guitar riff is so unique and fun, giving this song so much texture and really making it stand out. ‘Underground’ may be the song that is least like the others from this record so far, and it stands out in the best way for me. ‘Number One With A Bullet’ is the second song in a row with a pretty different sound than anything that precedes it. Once again, the elements of Blues Rock are certainly there in the guitar riff, but there are also major components of Funk in this one. The guitar riff that drives this track will give the stank face to anyone who hears it. This is the kind of track I want to put the devil hands up and headbang to. ‘Number One With A Bullet’ has the quickest and most rowdy drum pattern of the record so far. The drums on this one make me think of retro Pop Punk music, similar to artists like Black Flag or The Stooges. Jack White’s vocals on this track are very strained and raspy. They provided a very interesting texture to the track and made it abrasive yet welcoming at the same time. ‘Number One With A Bullet’ is a cool track that stands out for its uniqueness among the rest of this record.
After a couple of songs that went against the grain a bit, we return to a bit of familiarity with the track ‘Morning At Midnight.’ Honestly, I am sort of indifferent to this song. Everything about it is okay to me. The guitar riff is pretty cool but not as special as some of the ones we have heard before it. The drums are pretty quickly paced and will get you moving, but they are not hit particularly hard. The vocals are enjoyable but nothing to write home about as well. What is weird is, that because this ‘Morning At Midnight’ has such a straightforward sound that is easy to dance around to, I could see it being one of the more popular songs on the record. In my opinion, ‘Morning At Midnight’ is a song I am truly indifferent on, but I just have a feeling it is going to be a sleeper hit from this record. ‘Missionary’ has a way rougher and dirty sound than the one that precedes it. Frankly, it kind of feels like a more intense version of ‘Morning At Midnight.’ The melody and pacing on this track are not too different from the previous track. There is so much about it that draws me towards it more, though. For one, the guitar riff that drives this one is way more bumpy and intense. I really love the amount of distortion on the melody for this one, as it injects me with so much life when I hear it. Whereas the drums on ‘Morning At Midnight’ feel a bit lighter to me, the drums on this track are so heavy and huge. The drum beat gives this song a level of emphasis that takes it over the top, which I dig so much. Jack White’s vocals on this track totally match the intensity of the instrumental. He even gives us a couple of screeches on ‘Missionary’ that send shivers down my spine(which I think is so cool, by the way). ‘Missionary’ is a brazen Punk track where Jack White demonstrates everything about his persona that makes him a true blue Punk Rock star. Jack White closes out the record on a bit of a slower and softer note with the track ‘Terminal Archenemy Ending.’ This may be the most subdued and sludgy song of the record. Even though its guitar riff is softer and its tempo is slower, there is something very ominous about this one. It is almost as if because most of what has become before it has been so fast, distorted, and rough, the more clean and deliberate sound this track has makes it more foreboding. The melody that drives this one feels sunny and gloomy at the same time. This guitar riff has a hazy sound to it that kind of reminds me of the sun peaking through the clouds prior to a big storm. The tempo on ‘Terminal Archenemy Ending’ is pretty slow, but the drums on this song crash, adding to the threatening feeling of the track. Jack White’s vocals on ‘Terminal Archenemy Ending’ have a tortured tone; there is an anguish in his voice that goes so well with this melody. It seems like Jack White wanted to close out No Name in a dark and anxious manner, and he achieves that with ‘Terminal Archenemy Ending.’
Admittedly, as you may have gleaned in the introduction, I have been sort of on the fence about a lot of Jack White’s solo music. The White Stripes were a favorite band of mine growing up; I would play their first two albums on repeat as a kid. In the years since the group broke up, I have appreciated the weird and experimental sound Jack White has gone in, but it has not always been for me. I can acknowledge how technically awesome and innovative a lot of that music has been, but I have not gone back to listen to it much. No Name is a no-holds-barred, in-your-face record that is exactly what I have been looking for from Jack White for years. I can not think of negative things to say about this one, as I just dig it so much. Now, No Name does not push any boundaries or do anything super special or new. But for what it is, this record rules. If you just need some hard-hitting Punk Rock music to pump you up, this is a record for you. So many songs from No Name are going to be added to my workout playlists, as they just infuse me with energy when I hear them. No Name was a pleasant surprise from the legend that is Jack White which may be the best Rock album of the year; it proves that he can still do this Punk sound as well as anyone.