Despite their scuzzy appeal, the Dead Weather’s previous two albums have tended to fall a little short of Jack White’s usual vertiginous quality standards. Third time around, frontwoman Alison Mosshart has located her inner ballsy blueswoman (as opposed to her inner chain-smoking indie-rock vamp) on tracks such as the Led Zep-alike I Feel Love (Every Million Miles); the interplay between guitarist Dean Fertita and bassist Jack Lawrence has been sluiced free of sludge. As a result, Dodge and Burn bristles with clarity of riff, hook and tune and showcases the frankly ridiculous drumming ability of White himself. Impossible Winner, meanwhile, closes the album with a totally unexpected Mosshart piano ballad that would not sound amiss on a James Bond soundtrack.
The Dead Weather: Dodge and Burn review – sluiced free of sludge
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Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the Observer's pop critic. She has written for NME and occasionally crops up on Radio 4, 5Live, BBC 6Music, and has appeared on BBC2's The Culture Show and Newsnight Review. @kittyempire666
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