Dead Weather: Lightning!

Jack White’s other, other band—the pecking order goes The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and then Dead Weather—are back with their sophomore release, Sea Of Cowards. After their critically-acclaimed debut album, the gothic blues romp known as Horehound, and an electrifying live show the band didn’t waste any time on their return, just 10 months later.

Fronted by the Kills’ Alison Mosshart and featuring White on drums (and occasionally vocals) the band is a veritable supergroup of sorts that also includes bassist Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and guitarist Jack Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age.

This time around you can count on more down and dirty rock and roll, bluesy undertones, menacing guitar solos, dark organs, psychedelic synthesizers and lots of aggression in the form of Alison’s sultry howls and growls, but with the in-your-face intensity turned up even more.

Influenced by old blues records and Zeppelin, the album, like most of White’s work, features some great moments and some throwaways. And a lot of the songs kind of blur together. Yet, like everything White creates there’s an inexplicable force that just draws you in. Dead Weather is more about creating an explosive vibe than memorable songs, which really translates best live.