Over the course of his career, Jack White has been considered one of the greatest artists in rock music. It's in large part because at his heart he was a blues man in a pop world, finding ways to turn his many projects like The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather into catchy and memorable groups. But what is to be said of an artist, several decades in, who has done seemingly everything? It's this type of logic that either leads to stagnation or experimentation, and his latest "Boarding House Reach" leans towards the latter in such a defiant and fascinating way. It's the work of a genius, but also the least formed. It rambles, more presenting ideas than songs at times. It's his least commercial project to date, and that may be what makes it a delightful record to an artist who could've rested on his laurels. It may be one of his weakest, but it's evidence that he's antsy to be more than The White Stripes guy. He wants to be an actual artist.
The album starts off conventionally, at least for White's solo career. "Connected by Love" has all of the trappings of a latter day ballad, capturing an earnest chorus over the aching woes that White knows so well. It sounds like a continuation of "Blunderbuss" and "Lazaretto," which is neither a compliment nor an insult. It's what's expected from a musician who once produced music with Loretta Lynn and appeared in Cold Mountain. It's a quaint song, effective in how he captures the atmosphere of his emotions. Had the record continued on this path, odds are that this record wouldn't receive any flack. It would just be another well-rated Jack White album, which at this point there's probably a dozen of.
But much like how the art work strays from a traditional blue-and-white portrait of White, the rest of the album strays into what is arguably White's most exciting work. It begins with "Why Walk a Dog?" which is curious in subject, but familiar in style. White ponders why one would walk a dog before exploring a variety of animal-related situations. If viewed as an experience, this is the beginning of a rabbit hole, diving into the Wonderland that exists deep inside White. It goes beyond his bluesy guitar riffs, Grand Ole Opry pianos, and his love of 70's-era guitar solos. While it's also more repetitive and lacks the consistency of White's other music, it does become a hallucinogenic product that suggests that White's been spending his down time at the Electric Daisy Carnival. He is rich with a transparency that travels through space and time, gluing himself to any genre and style that he bumps into.
While there's room to argue that White has experimented in similar ways in the past, he hasn't done it this shamelessly. In between songs that exist more as verbal interludes, he begins to stray from a classical style, entering electronic melodies of the funk era, even goofy hip hop riffs where he "raps" some of his least coherent lyrics ever. Other songs, such as the aptly titled "Over and Over and Over" find him entering psychedelic rock influences where the chorus drones through, as if going on a mystical journey. It's a strange world for White fans, mostly because the instrumentation never sounds right. There's moments that sound raw, as if taken straight from studio outtakes. Other times the drums lack the organic sound that we've come to known. To a modern pop artist, this is worn out territory. To White, it's a chance to explore something new.
It's a frustrating record if taken literally, but here's the thing. White has been making music for so long that it would be boring to hear him do more of the same. Artists need to grow and change over time, or face a stagnation that makes them miserable. Sure, this is maybe too radical for some hardcore fans, but I'll take a record of misfires and innocuous concepts if it clears his head to find the next big thing. Most artists need to have this type of album, if just for their own selfish gain. White may never sound like this again, or maybe White will only fall further into his experimental phase. If he does the latter, he may become one of the most exciting (or embarrassing) 50-year-old musicians out there. I'd like him to remain interesting, and I assure you a "Blunderbuss 5" isn't it. So while this record has a lot of problems, it gives us a vulnerable side to an artist that has become predictable.
"Boarding House Reach" eventually returns to familiar White territory by the end, and it sounds amazingly fresh, as if the previous songs were ideas leading to this breakthrough. For all of the trippy tunes like "Get in the Mind Shaft," he reveals something cheeky by the end. "Humoresque" is a song that discusses how something could be funny, which is probably how he feels about this record. In some ways, it's refreshing to hear him having fun and trying things that make him happy. He has done too many songs about being miserable, so it's a relief that he's not doing it here. Instead, he finds the source of his creativity and makes the most of it. It's likely to frustrate fans of conventional verse-chorus-verse music, but who cares? White doesn't. He's about making music his way, and "Boarding House Reach" is arguably essential just to know what his take on modern music is. It's scrappy, odd, dated, and downright silly. It's the first time he hasn't made a "complete" record in quite some time, and that's exciting.
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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