No Name faithfully brings us back to Jack White's garage rock roots. They're short, sweet, and to the point with no fooling around. He definitely sounds like his most genuine self in recent memory.
Detroit's very own Jack White, one of rock music's most prolific songwriters and guitarists, is a busy man. Whether its his numerous bands (the long defunct White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather), his solo material, his record label Third Man or other endeavors, White is a workhorse unlike many in today's rock space. Following up his busy 2022 by releasing not one but two studio albums, White is back with a new one. As we've come to expect, White is full of surprises when it comes to marketing and his new album is no exception. Unmarked records were handed out to Third Man customers that were mysteriously titled No Name printed directly onto the record's label and unbeknownst to the lucky customer was the ability to be the first to listen to Jack White's new album. White encouraged these customers to rip the album on the internet and share and as a result, they certainly did and everyone was in on the action including Detroit radio stations. Eventually the album, frankly titled No Name, would get a proper release on physical, digital, and streaming formats but the idea of No Name being distributed like this is a very novel and fun way for a big name artist to release a new album without any buildup or press but rather full of mystery, wonder, and community.
2022's Fear of the Dawn is amongst White's best solo efforts to date and is one of his more experimental affairs to boot. Being a proper follow up to 2018's off kilter Boarding House Reach, this makes sense. Later that year, Entering Heaven Alive flipped on its head by being a record full of acoustic and traditional folk songs, a sharp contrast to Fear of the Dawn. These styles of experimentation and folk rock are always welcome but for years and years since The White Stripes' ultimate demise, fans have been waiting with bated breath for a proper return to White's garage rock roots. Now two years later, his sixth solo album No Name is the revival to garage rock that fans have been waiting for and boy, what a revival it is. No Name, as smartly presented as its title and simplified artwork, faithfully brings us back to Jack White's garage rock roots. There's an instant gratification to these blues, garage rock tunes. They're short, sweet, and to the point with no fooling around. He definitely sounds like his most genuine self in recent memory.
Much of the record is no fuss, loud bluesy garage rock, reminiscent of the late career White Stripes albums like Elephant or Icky Thump. It's right in Jack White's wheelhouse and it's all quality rather than the possibility of White simply phoning it in (which I don't think he'll ever do). The vocals are definitely impressive throughout the record with "Bless Myself" and "Bombing Out" being highlights. Speaking of songs like "Bombing Out," there are welcome garage rock tunes that sound so authentically of their time that they sound like legit unreleased White Stripes songs. The guitars on "It's Rough on Rats" totally pull out of the Led Zeppelin playbook in a tasteful way. The lyrical diatribes on "Archbishop Harold Holmes" are equally silly and thrilling. I love the timelessly solid guitar riffs on "Tonight (Was a Long Time Ago)" and the drumming on "Morning at Midnight" is dare I say... Meg White-esque? There are certainly some surprises such as the hypnotically folksy "Underground" and some stylistic switch ups in guitar tones here and there but overall No Name is uncut and straightforward in the best way possible. It's absolutely fun, thrilling, and above all great. No Name is by far Jack White's most Jack White solo album imaginable and I think I can attest that everyone's here for it. We are so back... not that he's ever left.
My Rating: 8 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Bless Yourself," "That's How I'm Feeling," "Bombing Out," "It's Rough on Rats (If You're Asking)," "Tonight (Was a Long Time Ago)," "Morning at Midnight"
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