ALBUM REVIEW: Jack White - Frozen Charlotte

Garage Rock’s high priest continues to misuse priceless boutique recording equipment with aplomb, resulting in a riotous LP. Thrillingly live, with few obvious overdubs, White produces his most primal recent expression of Rock ’n’ Roll minimalism, while asking many big questions and answering few.

Photo Credit: David Swanson

Comparisons to his last effort, 2024’s ‘No Name’, are inevitable here, but there is divergence enough to make this a worthwhile add-on. ‘Frozen Charlotte’ introduces a confused existentialism, world-weary in tone and sonically fatigued. Lyrically meandering, this record strings telegraphed rhyming couplets that feel inevitable at best (“are the homo sapiens the future aliens”), predictable at worst (“raising the grain to feel no pain”). 

No matter, however. When lyrical inspiration runs thin, White careens into his signature pitch-shifted guitar shriekery – at which he remains best in class. Biting treble dominates across the track list, with even meatier cuts subjected to a rather shrill mix. Although it may be wiry, this LP certainly packs a punch. Painted in broad strokes, every sound source earns its place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDMoOx5wU4btc&v=MoOx5wU4btc

Cuts like ‘Raising the Grain’ and ‘You’ll Never Fix Me’ are blown-out, as though heard through a wildly miscalibrated arena PA. Walls of sound are smudged in painterly fashion. Elsewhere, on highlights like ‘G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs’ and ‘All Alone Again’, Jack’s guitar is defined by an intimate high-fidelity crackle, reminiscent of the instrument’s most iconic players of the 1960s.

‘Frozen Charlotte’ was recorded hot off the road, and it shows, with Patrick Keeler (drums), Dominic Davis (bass), and Bobby Emmett (keyboards) showcasing decades of musical understanding. Emmett’s saturated Hammond organ truly elevates these songs, providing much-needed harmonic richness and occasional interstellar excursions. Backed by an outrageous rhythm section, Jack White synthesises the future through adept retro-revivalism. It was ever thus.