Here at Howl & Echoes, we unashamedly love ourselves some Jack White. We nearly even named ourselves after a Jack White song in our initial stages for making this site! He could release a Linkin Park/2Chainz Best Of album remixed by Avicii, and I would still love him because it would undoubtedly be amazing – as is everything he creates.
His now Grammy winning second solo album Lazaretto, was one of 2014’s most critically acclaimed, and saw the incredible man galavant on a stadium tour (still yet to come to Australia again though, Jackie!) of epic proportions. He even sprained his fucking ankle and continued to play that night, against medical warnings! Following on from Blunderbuss seemed impossible, and although that album holds a very special place in my heart, there is no denying how much Lazaretto rules.
One of the stand out tracks on that album is The Black Bat Licorice; a scorching rock tune with an infectious riff, token Jack swagger and dynamic arrangements showing his undeniable knack for song writing. Mr White has just announced he’ll be releasing this track, his latest single, as a new 7”. The B-side of this will be a cover of Harry Connick Jnr‘s Blue Light, Red Light (Someone’s There) – a sexy Big Band track that would be more suited to a cruise ship or swanky bar than Jack’s natural habitat of monstrous stages and thousands of fans. Nevertheless, it’s another side of Jack I’m glad we can see, and you can pre-order the release, out Feb 17 online and Feb 23 physically on Third Man Records. You can stream it HERE.
In the meantime, just take a look at the man himself performing The Black Bat Licorice with god damn Q-Tip of all people, as if the song needed to be anymore “cool”.
I love you, Jack. Never change.