Jack White - Boarding House Reach Review
For someone as prolific and steeped in as rich a musical history as is Jack White, expectations were sky high for the follow-up to his much acclaimed sophomore solo outing, Lazaretto. Already bending the rules in genres such as garage rock, blues rock, and country, there seemed to be a bar set almost too high by White after proving he could have a solo career that is just as, if not more, successful than his time spent fronting The White Stripes. That's why it came as such a surprise when 4 years later, White came out of the studio with an album that surely tops Lazaretto with even more experimentation and a vision that is inclusive to all genres of music: Boarding House Reach. To classify this album is to describe it as a garage-blues-country-funk-electronic-jazz hybrid with sprinklings of hip-hop and stream-of-conscience absurdity, something which I never expected to see combined all in one record by Jack White. There was however, a hint dropped early before BHR's announcement that signaled White's departure from traditional blues and garage rock anthems toward a more experimental and jam rock approach in the release of his non-album single "Battle Cry", in 2017. This single builds into White's traditional heavy, fuzzed-out guitar riffs from the tribal chanting and clapping, and it sounds like it's a next step in evolution from his instrumental wild card, "High Ball Stepper", in Lazaretto. When looking at "Battle Cry" as a bridge for listeners to take to Boarding House Reach, this new record should feel like just the right follow-up from someone who has never stopped growing musically.