Ok, I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about the album with the first listen. I say that because this is Jack White's weirdest work to date and it threw me off a little bit at first. What I realized, with additional listens, is that this album is the exact expression of Jack's eccentricity. I thought at first it was weird for the sake of being weird, but with more listens I was able to really appreciate the talent, the weirdness, and the over the top, pusher of limits that is Jack White. I'm so glad I gave Fear of the Dawn additional listens, because it is so worth it.
Fear of the Dawn is one of two albums that Jack White is putting out this year along with a massive tour for the spring and summer (catching him next week in Charleston at High Water Music Festival). Despite what some people may say, I don't think rock n roll is anywhere near dead especially while we have Jack White carrying the torch. Fear of the Dawn does a great job of carrying garage-rock, which was immensely popular in the 2000's-early 2010's, into 2022, The opening track, "Taking Me Back," feels it could have come out fifteen years ago as a White Stripes' single, but takes many weird twists and turns with the powerful, heavy vocals, and insane, almost psychedelic guitar riffs.
Jack released "Hi-De-Ho" with A Tribe Called Quests' Q-Tip as a single last month and I have been extremely stuck on it ever since. A very unlikely duo? Obviously, but both are legends in their own right. Q-Tip's sing-songy, almost nursery-rhyme verse over Jack White's bass line is something that I don't think the music world is paying enough attention to.
Another big standout was "Into the Twilight," which all my Daft Punk stans will realize sounds exactly like "Robot Rock" (Daft Punk is everywhere). I don't mean that in a derogatory sense either. The song feels out of this world in its on right, with Jack's vocals launching us further, and further into the stratosphere with every high pitched, robotic repeat of the song's title.
All in all, it is easy to go into the album and think it might be a little bit too experimental or trying maybe a bit too hard to push the boundaries, but you have to remember who we're dealing with here. Jack White is known for being eccentric, not just in his music, but as a person. I mean, anyone else remember when The White Stripes were actually married, but pretending to be siblings (I might have that backward, but this definitely happened)? It took me a few listens to appreciate the oddity that is Feat of the Dawn, but to be honest, now I can't get enough.
8/10
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