Every time Jack White is gearing up for a new album release, it’s an event. From the White Stripes to The Dead Weather and from The Raconteurs to his solo work, people pay attention when Mr. White drops a new track. That seems even more the case now with the upcoming release of his latest solo outing Boarding House Reach. He’s already revealed that he used Pro Tools for the first time on this new LP, covers song that was written by notorious gangster Al Capone and that he played Eddie Van Halen’s guitar on the album. Today, he’s released yet another song from the new record, this one called “Ice Station Zebra.”
The track takes a hard left turn from what most would expect from a Jack White album. There aren’t moments of balls-out garage rocking or folksy introspection that we’ve come to expect from the Detroit rocker. Instead, that Pro Tools use is on full display, with the song cutting across samples and taking on a bit of an old-school R&B vibe. Piano lines enter the mix before being abruptly cut – a quiet interlude two minutes in is preceded by what sounds like the wails of a theramin. Then, the song takes a funky turn with wah-wah guitars and a flatly chanted vocal delivery. If anything, we’ve always come to expect weirdness from White – it’s just surprising when it sounds like this.
Though in some ways, it’s not that surprising. His label Third Man Records has been busy putting out albums wide a mind-blowing array of artists in just about every genre under the sun. Considering the boutique nature of his label, it’s likely that he spends an inordinate amount of time with all of the music behind these releases. That White would take the pastiche approach on some of his new material by incorporating it into his new songs shouldn’t come as that much of a shock.
“Ice Station Zebra” is the fifth song released from Boarding House Reach. Previous tracks include “Connected by Love,” “Corporation,” “Over and Over and Over” and “Respect Commander.”
White will also be headed out on tour in support of the new album. On that tour, he has announced that cell phones will be banned, so don’t expect to see lot of bootleg footage of the performances on Youtube in the coming months. If you feel like festival lineups are getting stale and have the same handful of big-name headliners, Jack White is partially to blame. He’s playing nearly every big festival under the sun this summer, including Governor’s Ball, Boston Calling, Shaky Knees, Rock Werchter, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Arroyo Seco Weekend, Bunbury Festival and certainly much more to come.
Jack White Spring 2018 Tour Dates
04/19 – Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
04/20 – Eagles Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
04/21 – 20 Monroe – Grand Rapids, MI
04/23 – Baxter Arena – Omaha, NE
04/24 – Providence Medical Center Amphitheater – Bonner Springs, KS
04/25 – Chaifetz Arena – St. Louis, MO
04/27 – Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
04/29 – Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
04/30 – Revention Music Center – Houston, TX
05/01 – Revention Music Center – Houston, TX
05/02 – Austin360 Amphitheater – Austin, TX
05/04 – 05/06: Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA *
05/25 – 05/27: Boston Calling Music Festival – Boston, MA *
05/27 – Brewery Ommegang – Cooperstown, NY
05/29 – The Anthem – Washington, DC
06/01 -06/0 3: Governors Ball Music Festival – New York, NY *
06/04 – Express Live! Outdoor Amphitheater – Columbus, OH
06/06 – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica – Cleveland, OH
06/07 – Dome Arena – Rochester, NY
06/08 – Artpark Mainstage Theater – Lewiston, NY
06/09 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
06/27 – London, UK – Hammersmith Apollo
06/28 – London, UK – Hammersmith Apollo
07/02 – AFAS Live – Amsterdam, NL
07/03 – L’Olympia – Paris. FR
07/04 – L’Olympia – Paris. FR
08/06 – The Armory – Minneapolis, MN
08/08 – 1st Bank Center – Broomfield, CO
08/09 – SaltAir – Salt Lake City, UT
08/11 – Veterans Memorial Coliseum – Portland, OR
08/12 – Rogers Arena – Vancouver, BC
08/13 – WAMU Theatre – Seattle, WA
08/15 – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco, CA
08/19 – Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
08/21 – Viejas Arena – San Diego, CA
08/22 – Comerica Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
08/23 – The Chelsea @ The Cosmopolitan – Las Vegas, NV
08/24 – The Chelsea @ The Cosmopolitan – Las Vegas, NV
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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