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MUSIC FEATURE

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described “more mellow” set, Entering Heaven Alive , scheduled to follow in July), Fear of The Dawn is sickeningly good. Oh, how we’ve missed White unleashing his brilliantly bonkers brand of blues-infested rock’n’roll fury! And the drumming slaps hard throughout. “Are you taking me back?” White inquires during the lead single, before taunting (probably with one perfectly arched eyebrow raised), “I’ll bet you do!” In Fear of the Dawn ’s wake, we’re officially even more obsessed with White. And the blue hue of his current ‘do is *chef’s kiss*. ENTERING HEAVEN ALIVE This album’s title carries a biblical reference – it’s inspired by Elijah entering heaven without dying. Differentiating the demented, snarling Taking Me Back opener from Jack White’s previous album Fear of the Dawn (released just three short months ago) from this record’s closer Taking Me Back (Gently) – see what he did there? It’s like a double album on loop! – he describes the latter as “a gentle jazzy version recorded on actual 1930s equipment”: acoustic guitar, fiddle and piano. Standout I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love) , which opens like a predator casually stalking its prey, is one of the lonely electric guitar moments throughout the entirety of this contemplative set. Elsewhere, unruly ragtime piano and delightful, flirty fiddle reign supreme. “Ooh, don’t leave me alone tonight” – this section of opener A Tip fromYou to Me channels Stairway to Heaven ’s “Ooh, it really makes me wonder” parts. Queen of the Bees flies in like a precious relic from a bygone era. White composed this one on “a Mellotron that had samples of other instruments on it”, hence the wacky chord changes. There’s something a bit ye olde, oo-er naughty about this one, as well (“Put your hand in my pocket so the neighbours can see/ I want them to see…”). Also: “I wanna hold you like a sloth hugs a tree” – cute, much?

Blessed are we who receive two JackWhite albums in one sun-lap.The Detroit musical mastermind and formerWhite Stripe has just released the second of his two albums for 2022, titled Entering Heaven Alive ; here's our review, along with our previously published write-up on its mate released in April, Fear of the Dawn. Words Bryget Chrisfield THE SOUND OF WHITE FEATURE

Joyous instrumental moments include Tree on Fire fromWithin ’s sudden cymbal flurries, If I Die Tomorrow ’s Mellotron flutes and Please God, Don’t Tell Anyone ’s gobsmacking mid-song piano freakout. White huskily rap-sings this scribe’s current obsession, Madman from Manhattan (“Just on the break of a breakthrough”), with its verses chock-full of show offy, rhyming Dr Seuss ( Cat in the ) hat-tips – too much? “If he could win the time with the dame/ He ain’t ashamed to holler” – such old timey lingo! We suspect White is a time traveller. And then, "of course,” an angel sings to the protagonist from the inside of a whisky bottle?! Brilliantly bonkers as ever, White’s versatility knows no earthly bounds.

FEAR OFTHE DAWN Demented, distorted keys, primal-screeching guitars and strutting drums usher in this LP’s dangerous, addictive opener. As hard-hitting sounds ping-pong wildly between left and right earbuds, we brace ourselves for a bluesy rock’n’roll baptism while fighting the urge to fling both arms in the air – as if plummeting down a rollercoaster’s steep descent – before witty rhyming lyrics seal the deal: “When you listen to mystics/ As you lay out your picnics...” Somewhat like Prince before him, White’s guitar-playing majesty never seems to receive the accolades it so richly deserves – what the flamin’ heck are those droid sounds he wrenches out during this record’s title track, which boasts a relentless, galloping tempo akin to Wolfmother’s Woman ?! Ominous keys usher in The White Raven ’s

hardcore industrial rave and Q-Tip collab Hi-De-Ho is as off-kilter and phantasmagorical as its title suggests, with White sampling Cab Calloway before the A Tribe Called Quest rapper contributes some scatting of his own. Standout track Into the Twilight contains a snippet of The Manhattan Transfer’s 1979 single Twilight Zone (“Here in the twi light!”). To save you reaching for the dictionary, Eosphobia translates to “a morbid fear of dawn or daylight”, which obviously inspired the title of White’s fourth solo record. The first of two albums White will release this year (his self

Entering Heaven Alive (top) by Jack White is out July 22; Fear of the Dawn is out now. Both are released via White's own label, Third Man Records.

54 JULY 2022

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