Returning to his roots, ‘No Name’ finds Jack White pulling together a string of garage rock tunes that carry some of his best songs to date. Might be a back-to-basics approach, but it’s one that’s executed greatly.
After Jack White pulled off 2 albums back in 2022, one that leaned on experimenting with his brand of blues rock contrasted with the other that went more ballad-driven and focused on softer, lovestruck songs, he has pretty much has the right to do whatever he wants given his well-documented progression as a musician from his The White Stripes days to his own solo projects. And indeed he did something rather interesting. Back on July 19th, there was a vinyl record given to people who bought something on Third Man Records, leading those who got that vinyl to discover that this vinyl with the title ‘No Name’ plastered onto it was the newest project from Jack White. A few weeks after its successful surprise exclusive release, ‘No Name’ was then pushed into streaming, with Jack White back in album mode once again.
After going through shifts and directions toward his sound since 2018, ‘No Name’ finds him pulling towards the garage rock flair that he started with back in his The White Stripes days. A return to a core sound that might be straightforwardly familiar and shaggy in its mixing, but Jack White shows that even all of these years, he still manages to carry a ballistic sense of fervor that cuts through on most of these songs, with nothing but striking guitars, drums, and vocals punching along the way, paired with compositions that are catchy to boot. The bombastic melodies across the organ-accented Old Scratch Blues, the blazing smolder of ‘Bless Yourself’, the rabid rawness of ‘Missionary’, and the rapid-fire spark of ‘Bombing Out’ are delightfully compelling as Jack White’s performances bruise through these exceptional guitar and drum passages, contrasted well with the more stomping grooves across ‘That’s How I’m Feeling’ and ‘Tonight (Was A Long Time Ago)’, the shuffling holler of ‘Archbishop Harold Holmes’, the sticky melodic bounce of ‘Underground’, and the sifting cooldown of ‘Terminal Archenemy Endling’ just before the guitar and drum melody rips at the very end.
And with this much fervor going on in the melodies, the writing certainly is on par with that as well. Essentially painting an overall picture where there is a need to break free from being chained by certain organizations and find a sense of vigor amidst a world that will suffocate everybody along the way. It’s a sense of motivation and strength that carries more weight as the album starts wading through details opening up frustrations amidst political, social, and religious avenues. Generally encapsulates the desire to push through and reach that yearned vigor, even if the protagonist has seen those frustrations on the tables.
Even if the album carries a sound that Jack White has touched upon before, there is no denying that ‘No Name’ finds Jack White doing what he does best within a more straightforward tapestry - providing some of his best array of melodies, performances, and writing to date. The mixing might hold back some of these melodies, but the strengths are strong enough to overshadow that weakness. Even without having a “name”, the album's frenetic sound still manages to stick into one’s mind regardless.
Favorite Tracks: ‘Bless Yourself’, ‘Old Scratch Blues’, ‘That’s How I’m Feeling’, ‘Archbishop Harold Holmes’, ‘Bombing Out’, ‘Tonight (Was A Long Time Ago)’, ‘Underground’, ‘Missionary’, ‘Terminal Archenemy Endling’
Least Favorite Track: ‘Morning At Midnight’