146. BLUNDERBUSS by Jack White

With the recent news that upholsterer extraordinaire Jack White plans on releasing two solo records in 2022, I thought I’d take this opportunity to revisit his debut from 2012. This genre-bending record is alternative to its core, though it’s layered with folk, rock and even some country-tinged tunes. The over-arching themes deal with relationships and breakups, which comes as no surprise as his marriage was falling apart/had fallen apart by the time this album came out. Start out with the opener, ‘Missing Pieces,’ to get a sense of how much White just wants to rock out. Then, move on to ‘Freedom at 21’ where he makes a whammy bar out of his vocal cords (you need to listen to know what I mean). ‘Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy’ (what a song title!) comes across as a rollicking country stomper, but if you listen to the lyrics closely, you’ll think different. Round out your listening with ‘Trash Tongue Talker’ which is great story telling with some mean piano breaks in between.