Chaotic, ambitious, and lovely: Jack White’s Boarding House Reach

“You people are totally absurd”: Jack White tells us how he really feels all throughout his new album, Boarding House Reach (2018). The record covers a wide variety of social critiques and strangely, but fittingly, ends with a light-hearted musical composition written by Al Capone while he was in Alcatraz in the 1930s (White anonymously bought the piece from an auction for a staggering $18,750). The diversity of criticisms spread throughout the album’s lyrics also matched the range of musical genres being explored — funk, rock, blues, jazz, hip-hop, electronic, and everything in between.

Opening with the record’s lead single, “Connected By Love,” and shortly followed by the third track, “Corporation,” White sets the tone for what is about to come — pure weirdness that is (somehow) even more strange and ambitious than anything else he has ever done. For the first time ever, White heavily incorporated synths and electronic elements into his music. He even rapped “Ice Station Zebra,” an original that not only sounds incredibly inspired by A Tribe Called Quest, but also references James Brown. In my opinion, the most ambitious song on the album, although maybe not the best, was “Hypermisophoniac.” In many ways, this piece was a great representation of the album as a whole. It was an absolutely chaotic mess. But, at the same time, it portrayed so much beauty. Honestly, I cannot think of any specific aspect of the song that is beautiful; I cannot even explain my reasons for liking the song, but I love it. That’s basically how I feel about the album altogether; it is extremely difficult for me to explain why I like it. All I know is that it left me completely speechless and excited for the future of rock and roll.

Boarding House Reach has also done something that has never been done before: it took a giant leap forward as rock and roll’s first incredible collaboration with heavy-duty electronics. Although there are critically acclaimed rock bands that incorporate technology — such as Radiohead and The Flaming Lips — none, until this record, have been able to do so with the raw, badass nature inherent in the best old-school rock bands. This only gets me excited for the future as this album becomes a stepping stone for upcoming artists in years to come. Similar to how The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) changed everything that music had to offer at the time, I would not be surprised if Boarding House Reach does the same. If it does not, I have a great feeling that some album will accomplish this feat in the near future, and they will (in at least a few ways) have Jack White to thank for it.

The album has its blemishes, just as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band does, but it could be a monumental occasion for rock and roll in the 21st century. Overall, though it is profoundly experimental, Boarding House Reach might just be Jack White’s best work yet. The year may be young, but this is my early front runner for album of the year. I recommend that everybody — even people who do not like Jack White — listen to it from start to finish.

Rating: 8.6/10

Written by Shayan Shirkhodai