The Dead Weather - Horehound

What do you get when you combine the musical talents of Jack White, Jack Lawrence, Dean Fertita and Alison Mosshart? A sound that will "defy expectations" according to Zune's.

These musicians combine the sounds of several groups including the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, the Kills, Queens of the Stone Age and recently formed a new rock band, the Dead Weather. In July of 2009, the group released its first album, Horehound, featuring White on drums, Mosshart on vocals and Fertita and Lawrence on guitar and bass.

The album begins with a sort of offbeat percussion sound and "battling guitar" lines. The opening track, "60 Feet Tall" sets the stage for a reoccurring blues feel heard throughout the album. Mossharts vocals rip into the instrumental sounds; this group has been an experimental stage for Mosshart's vocal ability. The raspy sounds, sighs and coos are only some of the techniques used throughout the album. The Dead Weather allows Mosshart to apply her talent and experience from The Kills and create a new, vibrant tone. In the track "So Far From Your Weapon," Mosshart's self written song, she belts out a jazzy, smooth sound accompanied by rolling percussion sounds and echoing vocals.

White, returning to his first instrument, combines his loud percussive parts with vocals that are just as deep and accented as the drums. In the track he wrote himself, "I Cut Like a Buffalo," White demonstrates his new take on vocals, leaving behind his old method of singing much higher in the bands the Raconteurs and the Stripes.

The album features White's and Mosshart's sounds throughout the tracks, they are more prominent than most other playing. On the track, "Bone House," Fertita's playing comes to life with his crazy guitar riffs and some creepy falsetto. An electric percussive part is another unexpected feature in this tune.

As a band that formed just for the hell of it, The Dead Weather experimental sounds are both intriguing and gripping. The talented quartet combine their sounds and work undeniably well together to create the thick, full sound that the Dead Weather has established as one of its most stimulating traits. The unstructured sound gives the sense that the entire album was one long recorded rehearsal. The Dead Weather goes beyond expectation and has presented a new and unique sound that pushes boundaries. The bands' new album Sea of Cowards is set to be released May 10 or 11 of 2010.