On his new album No Name, Jack White asks us to play pretend. Other artists like to imagine themselves as aliens visiting Earth, or cowboys at a shooting range, but this title and release caused White to ask a different question. What if you could listen to his latest solo album without context, without weighing each riff against “Icky Thump” or “Seven Nation Army,” as if the project didn’t even have a name? ?
Several Third Man Records patrons got a little taste of that experience on July 19, when along with their purchases they found a mysterious vinyl record as white as a page and blank except for the words “NO NAME.” received. But most of them, new to Third Man Records, must have been suspicious of the 49-year-old author long before the needle dropped. By the time White hissed out the opening words, “Jackie said I warned you,” there was no doubt. White’s voice is iconic, and his historically informed guitar tones have inspired generations.
Click here for Jack White tickets
Still, if you accept that cops on TV shows do their job properly, despite actors breaking into songs during musicals and many people seemingly dying after starting an investigation. White white vinyl and blank frame can be played together. Without a name if you like.
If you didn’t know anything else, you’d know this guy could shred. “No Name” begins with a bluesy guitar line with a melody reminiscent of JS Bach. It’s a dense variation of several ideas that chase each other across the frets. The guitars on “Bless Yourself” couldn’t be more different, with chunky chainsaw-like rips. Meanwhile, the main theme of “That’s How I’m Feeling” is smooth simplicity. It’s a pop hit, but instead of a pop hook, it’s a garage rock blast. No Name is a love letter to the guitar, with some of the most original and varied riffs of the year.
The lyrics range from the straight-talking to the surreal to the playfully sinister. In the religious satire “Archbishop Harold Holmes,” he brings chain letters to life. “But I have to tell my seven friends,” he says in unison. “First you must bring seven friends/And don’t be selfish and keep it all to yourself/(And don’t eat shellfish!)”
The ridicule he puts into “shellfish” is delicious, and it’s just as fun to vent his grievances on the world. “It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking)” is one of the highlights of Side A, the stronger of the two sides. We find White reflecting on both what humans have done to the Earth and our changing position on it.
“As bad as we went through,” he barks, “It must be tough on the rats for sure / The world is worse than when we found it / Surely for the rats It must be tough,” he added, his voice cracking and slipping like a whip of fire. “But you should stop complaining every time it rains/Cause I’m not cat food yet!”
