White Stripes and Raconteurs leader Jack White won¹t rest. Pairing with Kills vocalist Alison Mosshart, the analog champion¹s latest quartet plays psychedelic blues and stark rock that¹s moody, atmospheric, and hypnotic. Tinged with swampy vibes and ominous emotions, this is a supergroup that lives up to the names and pedigrees of its impressive roster of members.

In addition to White and Mosshart, The Dead Weather brings together Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Dean Fertita and Raconteurs bassist Jack Lawrence. A veritable jack of all trades, White has turned his attention to the drums, leaving the guitar fireworks to Fertita. Most importantly, the quartet’s iniitial batch of songs leaves nothing to be desired.

Steeped in mythology, dripping with trashy promise, and soaked in an aptly humid atmospherics, Horehound is a modern marvel–a full-band effort that pools the best of White’s other bands into an utterly distinctive whole. The push-pull interplay between White and Mosshart is alone worth exploring; such tension, drive, and edginess inform the proceedings, which span funk, sleazy blues, greasy boogies, and fuzz-drenched rock. Call it an update on not only blues’ traditions but those of film noir, where White is ensared by Mosshart’s femme-fatale allure and the band plays the soundtrack while the devil marches in and takes control.

Recorded in just three weeks at White’s newly constructed Nashville studio, Horehound has the sonics to match the excellent tunesmithship. Quickly becoming renown as one of the most analog-minded producers around, White worked to capture every nuance, texture, and note on this richly detailed album, which like the White Stripes’ work, was intended to be heard on vinyl. Fertita’s organ work and Lawrence’s melodically distorted bass lines are not only heard but felt as they contribute to an ambience that’s at once haunted and mesmerizing. You will not be disappointed at the results.

“Maybe the guy keeps such an insane work schedule because he’s afraid idle hands are the devil’s workshop. So while Meg White prepares to become Patti Smith’s daughter-in-law, Jack keeps busy with this brilliant new band, tangling with Alison Mosshart of the Kills for an excellent album of sex sweat, bourbon breath, gun smoke and guitar sleaze. Advantage: devil!” –Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, July 13, 2009