‘Fear Of The Dawn’ Album Review
Many Jack White III fan pages I’m a part of have been calling ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ his best album. Whether they mean it’s better than anything he’s ever made (as part of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather) or just as a solo artist is unclear. Two things I feel certain about regarding ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ is how it feels like a fever dream, and it exist as its own unique beast. To unlock what I mean by that statement, you have to understand how his previous effort ‘Boarding House Reach’ not only meant a lot to me for personal reasons, but also swiftly became one of my top three albums of all time. Even though I never reviewed BHR properly, you can read my thoughts on it after attending a listening party a few weeks before it was released. The long and the short of it is however, I thought Jack White had merged every major music genre — metal, rock, electronica, spoken word, jazz, gospel and folk — into one album to create the Ultimate popular music product. In doing so he strayed away from his White Stripe roots and created an album with a collection of songs you could slot into any genre. It was experimental, unique and beyond interesting. Not just one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite artists of all time.
When I heard a new solo Jack White album was coming out, I was understandably dubious. Could he manage to top what he’d done in 2018 and make something so much better, out there and even more unique? Or was he about to return to familiar territory found on his 2012 debut solo album ‘Blunderbuss’? You could argue he did both in a way, when you look at the bigger picture of things: ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ is just one of two solo records Jack White is issuing this year, with ‘Entering Heaven Alive’ coming later in July. The first wind we caught of any new music came in the form of ‘Taking Me Back’, the lead single released in conjunction with ‘Call Of Duty: Vanguard’ in fall 2021; it was accompanied by a softer b-side track called ‘Taking Me Back (Gently)’. Both tracks were the same song in entirely different musical contexts, showing “the duality of man” by having one be loud, experimental and aggressive while the other was slower, more laid back and acoustic.
Nobody knew if, after two years of being locked inside and away from the world, we’d get a new Jack White album. Once ‘Taking Me Back’ hit the radio, White did mention in an interview how he’d been locked up himself in a house with a home studio. Was this a confirmation or simply a tease? Fans were obviously shocked with the news of two coming albums rather than just one. Once this news came, two singles were unleashed to promote both albums: ‘Love Is Selfish’ and ‘Hi-De-Ho’, both including a track from each album. ‘What’s The Trick?’ was the fourth single, released the day before ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ on April 7th 2022. Rather than discuss each single individually, each song will be explored as in depth as I can in our next section.
Before moving on though, I just want to highlight how exceptionally beautiful this record is. It is perhaps the most stunning record in my collection so far. I opted for the indie exclusive astronomical blue vinyl, but several other variants were pressed by White’s own Third Man Records and Third Man Pressing: moon glow, moon glow/astronomical blue, midnight blue and standard black. An interview with Zane Low/Beats One was also released on April 7th, which includes a look at the records being pressed at Third Man Records Detroit — in addition to a rather funny comment by White himself considering the different vinyl colours. But the reason this album is so visually stunning to me is not solely due to the vinyl variant I got, but because of the inclusion of three inserts accompanying each vinyl release too. Liner notes, lyrics and track credits for the album are spread across artwork inserts you receive with the album; even the hype sticker on the cellophane is visually aesthetic and stunning, something I’m glad to be able to keep with the record. Though I was a little apprehensive a caricature of White standing between the wooden ruins of a house — perhaps his Boarding House Reach? — being the cover of the album. When I buy a Jack White III album, I want him on the cover, but this is something he’s seemed to have strayed from since his 2014 solo record (and ‘Dodge And Burn’, the 2015 Dead Weather record).
Another part playing into the visual aesthetic is the music videos for the ‘Taking Me Back’ and ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ singles. These both solidified my belief that Jack White owns the colour blue, a staple of his solo material since his first solo album. Both music videos are connected via the use of a hand mirror and feature isolated colour of a dark blue. In the latter you can see flickers on screen, which I assumed to be a digital filter until White’s UK Mojo Magazine cover story revealing him and his crew destroyed the tape it was filmed on. Also returning is a dedicated pair of matching guitar and bass models, this time with a sparkling blue finish. Perhaps the most bizarre feature of this era in terms of aesthetics and dedication is the fact Jack White has dyed his hair!? It took me back the first time I saw it as I was so surprised, but I have grown to adore and warmly welcome it into the Third Man world.
Fear Of The Dawn: Track By Track
Taking Me Back: opening the album and era is a song which, in all honesty, took me quite a while to get into. I even preferred the ‘(Gently)’ version of the song for a time because I thought the electric version was “just another Jack White III” song featuring drums, bass, vocals and guitar; I think some fans across several fan pages even said a similar thing themselves. Repeated listens of the song, and watching the music video, really helped make this one to click for me. From day one the element of the song I praised most was the sounds he was able to achieve on it, no doubt all taken from his Third Man Hardware pedals and instruments, but I thought everything on the lead front was done via guitar.
Jack White is a phenomenal guitar player — and one of the best musicians we have left — and ‘Taking Me Back’ alone proves the fact. But watching the music video made me catch onto how those sounds I love, the ones being played by a guitar, were in fact produced from a keyboard. The electronic experimentation of ‘Boarding House Reach’ was one of my favourite elements of his previous effort, and I fully believe seeing a stop/start Jack White making the most of a keyboard led me to eventually fall in love with this song. I also think this discovery made me think “we’ve got a potential BHR sequel on the way”, and if Jack White was able to stay at that level, he would solidify himself as one of the absolute best.
Fear Of The Dawn: I was disappointed upon seeing the title track was under three minutes long, as my personal feelings toward title tracks as an artist myself is how they should be the “centre piece” of the album — the destination you’re going towards. Once I heard the song itself though, I was blown away by it thanks to the sonic atmosphere it creates. It’s trashing, goes incredibly hard and squeals with pure electricity thanks to more incredible guitar solos and the use of a theremin of all things. The song also features three simple verses broken up by the guitar solos, doing the signature Jack White thing of not featuring a chorus.
My first few listens left me feeling as though the lyrics were completely random, with only a few phrases like “no more than two cigarettes” and “the moon up above” being decipherable. These lyrics obviously play into the repeated imagery and motif featuring the moon, but closer inspection of all three verses create a sinister feeling to me. This is a setting where only two cigarettes can be indulged in otherwise the light from the match will betray the two characters, where the moon screams, where the sun is crushing walls surrounding them both. If their environment is out to kill them, no wonder the music sounds so savage.
The White Raven: upon first hearing this song, I immediately thought it wouldn’t sound out of place on a Raconteurs record with how White’s vocals sound and the guitar playing is structured. And what’s even more strange is how, for me at least, I started to hear echoes of Rob Zombie the deeper I got into the song. It’s no ‘Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy’, but the wall of static aggression behind the vocals reminded me of Zombie’s song ‘The Triumph of King Freak’ — don’t ask me why, that’s just an association I somehow managed to make here. Within the lyrics we’re treated to talk of colours associated with milia weaponry: baby blue grenades, kelly green and white machine guns, and a raven black army. Luckily the character is equipped with invisible motives and uniform, matched with wearing some invincible armour.
A raven would traditionally be associated with death as it falls under the category of carrion birds, so this character being armed to the teeth with weaponry makes perfect sense. Rather than a raven feasting on the flesh of their prey, this one instead chooses to kill via grenades and machine guns. Like a black raven being hidden under the camouflage of night, this character instead uses their invisible camouflage to remain hidden. The title of ‘The White Raven’ is paradoxical however, as the colour of white is typically associated with purity and innocence, which is the exact opposite of what killing people would reward you in terms of morality. But if you were disguised under the perk of being unseen, then who can pin those deaths on you, tainting your reputation and moral standing?
Hi-De-Ho: thanks to the soundscape it creates, it’s very hard to define and place into one musical category or genre. And for that reason, I credit this song as perhaps the most unique and outstanding song on this record — in my opinion of course. There is also a musical feature from Q-Tip here, the only major feature on the album, and it opens with a sample of Cab Calloway’s grand vocals taken from his song ‘Hi-De-Ho Man’; White’s own song title here is obviously an illusion to the source material. Along with many others, I thought it was White’s vocals upon first hearing the opening and closing scat vocals until I came across an article correcting me to the truth.
Sample confusion aside, ‘Hi-De-Ho’ is many things: playful, fearlessly experimental, funky and a whole lot of fun. I say funky because the guitar and bass lines that mirror each other hold an incredible groove, matched with addictive flourishes of percussion. The drumming and simple yet effective bass on the song are my favourite aspects of it. Q-Tip can be heard rapping during the verses about seemingly any and everything, pushing the fun and playful aspects of the song, before it slows down a little for White’s vocals to come in. Finishing off the song is a drum fill, a guitar solo riffing on and extending the bassline, and random scat vocals from White himself before Cab Calloway vocalises to the end.
Eosophobia: was a word previously unknown to me, but a quick Google search identifies it as “a morbid fear of dawn or daylight”, perfectly relevant to the entire album and concept. Even though White never uses the phrase “fear of the dawn” or and variation of it in the title track, it’s here where he first uses any resemblance of it in the line “I fear the dawn / I fear the sun coming on”. Lyrics detail the rotation of the sun, burning as it rises, with a repeated refrain telling us he’s learning to love once his feelings disappear — perhaps the incoming dawn is messing with his, or the characters, mind and feelings.
We’re also told how he has control and command over the sun, singing “the sun goes down when I tell it to”, which may be the only way to control his fear of the illuminating star. In terms of instrumentation, reverb and delay are used on White’s vocals and various other instruments over an interlocking guitar and organ line, with the bridge featuring thick distorted guitar chords and another solo later in the song. One feature of the song, used again in the closing track, is how White’s vocal melody matches and mirrors what’s being played by the lead guitar — this happens again in the closing track.
Into the Twilight: feels like the equally weird cousin to ‘Get In The Mindshaft’ from ‘Boarding House Reach’. While this song doesn’t hold a feeling of nostalgia and melancholy like the other, it does hold a feeling of being equally as electronically experimental. In fact, you could argue the song is almost a sound collage with how many vocal lines are sampled — in the song you can hear The Manhattan Transfer duetting with White, and William S. Burroughs musing “when you cut into the present, the future leaks out”. Between the vocal samples and air of experimentation, we’re also treated to more guitar playing from White, which feels like a standout feature of the song to me.
I was also going to argue how this song was practically an instrumental until looking it up on Genius reminded me there are actual lyrics to the song, more than just a repetition of the line “here in the twilight”, which feels as though a mechanical voice is saying it. The lyrics White does sing is a repetition of “here in the night / everything’s right”, further playing into the entire concept of the album and a “fear of the dawn”. By this point we’re able to understand just how much comfort is found within the night, and this song feels like the mischief or experimentation somebody be doing while the world sleeps.
Dusk: I began to wonder when dusk was, and another Google search told me it’s “the period of twilight between complete darkness and sunrise”. As dusk is a synonym for twilight, the title of the song could thematically symbolise an explanation into the darkness of the night. It does follow a song called ‘Into The Twilight’, so by the time the listener reaches ‘Dusk’, they could be fully into the late evening period. Aside from this, I don’t think there’s much to say about it.
It’s the calmest and most gentle song on the album, but only runs for 30 seconds and acts more as a segue than a song in its own right — not in comparison to something as layered lyrically and musically as the tracks surrounding it. I would love to hear an extended jam/instrumental of the track though, to see where it could go and how White would handle and add onto what’s established here.
What’s The Trick?: is another song giving the feeling it wouldn’t be out of place on ‘Boarding House Reach’ as, much like ‘Over And Over And Over’ found on there, it has a repeated guitar riff played through the song; it has samples of a motorbike, not too dissimilar White sampling a fidget cube on ‘Hypermisophoniac’; and finally, the vocals remind me of ‘Everything You’ve Ever Learnt’ from his previous album too. Just this song alone feels like it encompasses the best parts of White’s best solo effort, mixed with a brand-new element described perfectly by Steve Lamacq as “a public manifesto”. It does indeed feel as though White is talking matter-of-factly to his audience, utilising a vocal style bordering on rapping, while hardly sounding anything like Jack White III usually does at all.
Some of the most thought-provoking lyrics are contained within the song too, with a massive standout being “if I die tomorrow, what did I do today?” I’m somebody who tries to live each day as though it’s their last, so it really resonated with me and has played over and over and over in my mind since first hearing it. I also tried to avoid hearing this single before the album as is was released the day before, but it was played on Steve Lamacq’s hour with Jack White which killed off that intention. Since I heard it though, it’s become one of my most played songs from the album.
That Was Then, This is Now: continuing the theme of comparing this album to every musical project Jack White III has ever touched, here we reach familiar peppermint territory regarding The White Stripes. Maybe it’s because the main three instruments I can make out on this song are just drums, guitar and vocals — practically the entire compositions of most White Stripes songs — but I can easily hear White treading his garage rock and blues roots in this song. It just feels and sounds innately White Stripes to me. Further adding to that is the tone of White’s guitar, sounding very fuzzy (is that a Third Man Hardware Bumble Buzz pedal?) and the entwining drums and guitar during the verses. When it comes to the chorus, it feels as though there’s a pop tinge to how White is singing. I could hear it being played on the radio in passing.
We then move to a distorted breakdown with White stating “that was then, this is now”, a statement I think plays into the song incredibly well because I’m sat comparing a song from his most recent album to the band which granted him such fame and recognition. It feels like there’s a little irony there, perhaps a tinge of something meta too? In terms of lyrics, there’s a feeling of a somebody trying to find somebody who’s busy finding themselves; they look all over town, all around and upon a shelf for their companion but all attempts of searching prove to be useless. Revisiting the song title again, though this different lens, could also play into this theory of finding oneself. By the time these two characters meet, and one has gone on a journey of self-discovery and improvement, they would be a totally different person to who they were once before. That was then and this is now. And of course, there’s several lyrics playing into the moon theme again, some of which give the feeling of this “scene” occurring at nighttime.
Eosophobia — Reprise: I’m unsure as to why ‘Eosophobia’ has been split into two tracks, as I personally would have preferred to have a massive six-minute-long song on the album — but that’s only my take as I’m an avid listener and lover of extended tracks. Perhaps White is aware of the fact attention spans are dwindling, or maybe there’s a narrative significance I’m yet to unlock and notice? The idea of the sun being commanded by the character is repeated here, with lyrics moving on to say “at night, there is no light” — which White vocalises perfectly, by the way. Rather than having the guitar mirror the vocal melody, the reprise has it going crazy and riffing off solos for the most part. That’s surrounded by more crashing drums and a smooth organ in the background. As the song begins to end though, the guitar and organ both begin to blend together to see the song out.
Morning, Noon and Night: after hearing about recent developments with Jack White III and Olivia Jean, listening to this song again made me feel as though it could be — at least somewhat — rooted within their relationship. It feels very much like a romantic love song to me, giving a feel of “I want to spend all hours of the day with you”. It feels as though the character, perhaps White himself, has come a long way and developed an understanding of what love is. While also managing to meet the right person who they’ve become completely obsessed with. There’s also an intense focus on the idea and concept of time, days being numbered, coming through within the lyrics. But if you find the right person, would you not want to spend what’s left of your life with them?
One interesting thing to note is, as the song reaches its climax with White’s vocals and guitar playing both going wild, the song ‘Dusk’ begins to chime in and take over for a little before fading back to the main song at hand. It wasn’t until I heard the album for a fourth time when I realised and picked up this song is connected to ‘Dusk’ musically, with a feeling it expands upon and extends the music within the thirty second interlude ever so slightly. I don’t know whether to count inclusion of ‘Dusk’ in this song as a reprise, the second in a row, or to hold it as musical foreshadowing.
Shedding My Velvet: The title itself feels like an abandonment of all things previous and grand. It makes me think of stags with bloody antlers as the velvet begins to fall from them, which looks grotesque but doesn’t hurt or harm them as bad as it looks as though it would. This also feeds into the opening lines “I’m shedding my velvet, can’t you see? This is the real me”, a notion of whatever lies beneath the skin or exterior of the character — again possibly White himself — is the real face and incarnation of them. Another sense of growth and improvement can be found in the lines “I’m not as bad as I was / but I’m not as good as I can be”, which comes across as being a recurring theme in these final three songs.
I’ve saw a lot of love for this song since it was released, with one fan calling it simply “a vibe”. In all honesty, I didn’t really feel the hype or excitement for this song upon first listen. As I listened to it more, individually and as part of the album, I did come to really love and appreciate the song for what it is. The song also feels musically unique, something unlike anything White has done before, perhaps bridging his past — with several songs on the album connecting to different past projects — to his future. There’s no telling what Jack White III will do next, but it’s promised to be unique and interesting.
Final Thoughts
The big question is, was Jack White III able to outdo himself and top ‘Boarding House Reach’? I think he has personally, and with flying colours — mainly shades of blue. Like I said, it feels as though White has managed to tread the majority of his past while making something totally new and different. ‘Hi-De-Ho’ is incredibly difficult to categorise and is a standout song on the album for me, in addition to ‘Shedding My Velvet’. The melody of ‘Eosophobia’ still manages to get stuck in my head, and the entire concept and visuals surrounding the night and moon continue to fascinate and pull me in; even though I’ve delved deep into different aspects of the lyrics, I feel there’s still so much more with many extra details to uncover.
‘Fear Of The Dawn’ is so visually stunning and demands replays, making it an album and era to enjoy and revisit for years to come. It manages to touch so much musical ground, familiar and unfamiliar, while also feeling as a natural progression from everything which has come before in White’s musical canon. It’s gorgeous, loud, mysterious and acknowledges growth. And no doubt the perfect harsher side to the folk of ‘Entering Heaven Alive’ we’ve yet to explore later this year. And finally, I just want to say a huge congratulations to Jack White III and Olivia Jean, who were engaged and married during White’s Masonic Temple show the same day ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ was released.
