Lazaretto
10 June 2014
Third Man
3 stars out of 5
Former White Stripe Jack White’s second solo LP, Lazaretto, is another traditionalist genre
orgy along the same lines as 2012’s Blunderbuss.
You’ve got yer blues, yer country, yer rock ‘n’ roll, all coming together to
swap fluids with that same garage punk attitude that Jack & Meg made famous
back in the late ‘90s (or the early ‘00s, if you were late to the party and
thought that Elephant was their debut).
There are a few great moments here, such as the irresistable come-on that is
the title track, and the bizarre “That Black Bat Licorice,” but there’s also a
lot of masturbation off in the corner.
The main problem with Lazaretto,
and the last ten years of White’s output in general, is that it’s saturated
with a sense of, “Hey look, guys! I’m playing fucking rock ‘n’ roll! Isn’t this
so cool?!” While passion for one’s trade is certainly admirable, White’s
particular brand of enthusiasm is ultimately distancing rather than engaging. And,
of course, White’s traditionalism means that there’s not a molecule of innovation
or invention to be found in the music of Lazaretto.
These criticisms aside (which are more about White’s general approach to music
rather than the product immediately under scrutiny), if you’re looking for 40
minutes of non-threatening, well-performed traditional American music, you
could do a lot worse than Lazaretto.
To return to the orgy metaphor (for no particular reason
other than that I like the idea in a purely academic sense), once all the
guests have left and you’ve managed to find all the used condoms (well, most of
them, anyway) strewn about your apartment, you’re left with a sense that, yes,
you did listen to Lazaretto just now,
and there were a few nice asses and maybe some sexy feet (if you’re into feet),
but you’re not quite sure that it was really worth all the trouble. Are you
really going to do all that again? Perhaps the emotional lube of some good Kentucky
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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