Released: 2022

Genres: Garage Rock, Blues Rock, Experimental Rock, Hard Rock

The Musiquarium’s Fear of the Dawn Review Score: 8.5 out of 10

Jack White continues with the experimentation of 2018’s Boarding House Reach, but refines it, tones it down a bit and gives it more of a hard rock edge this time. As all the acoustic songs were put on Entering Heaven Alive (which released a few months later), this album is nothing but electrified rock songs throughout — no ballads or acoustic songs in sight, just experimental hard rock.

Out of the gate, Taking Me Back is a welcome return to Jack White’s more straightforward rock n roll that was only teased on Boarding House Reach, though it still has plenty of electronics to accentuate it. The title track is quite possibly the heaviest thing that White has released on any of his solo albums, bringing to mind metal-adjacent White Stripes songs like Little Cream Soda.

Hi-De-Ho features Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest and is one of the most bizarre songs that Jack White has made in any of his many projects and it’s all the better for it. The White Raven is a fuzzed-out rocker with gospel vocals. What’s the Trick? is a classic Jack White blues rocker.

Dusk is a pointless 30 second interlude and Into the Twilight feel like a Boarding House Reach leftover that sounds like a b-side. Eosophobia has a reggae sound and plenty of cool guitar work, though I’m not sure a reprise was necessary. The moody, downtempo Shedding My Velvet closes the album off on a high note.

Fear of the Dawn is Jack White’s most consistent and exciting solo album since his debut, Blunderbuss. Unlike on Boarding House Reach, where the experimentation sometimes felt forced, it feels more organic here. Overall, Fear of the Dawn is an excellent rock record with very few misses and lots of great riffs.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Jack White on Discogs.

Back to the 2022 Album Reviews Guide or the Jack White Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard