''Lazaretto'' album review

                 This album will make you feel like you’re riding an emotional rollercoaster. Product of a seemingly angry Jack White, it’ll make you nod to his woeful lyrics, bang your head along with the aggressive riffs, and smile to his cheeky attitude.

                This project blends a multitude of genres. From rock to blues, country, folk, and funk. This album has it all. Such creation could only come from a person who was going through some issues. This album rose from the ashes of Jack White’s relationship with his former wife Karen Elson, to make us tremble with self-pity, aggravation, and confusion.

                Starting off with a smug declaration, Jack White tells us he’s got ‘’Three Women’’ that he needs ‘’to blow his blues away.’’ Divorced and helpless, seeking comfort in the company of other friendly faces, Jack can’t forget the sort of ‘’Lazaretto’’ he’s been put in. A lazaretto, for those who don’t know, was a place where the leprous and the ill would be quarantined from the rest of society and the people they love. That feeling might have come from the fact that at that time, White was battling against his ex-wife for the custody of his kids, and as we know, females usually win those cases, therefore the feeling of confinement.

                Jack White then releases a barrage of beautifully distorted anger to our ears with ‘’High Ball Stepper’’. This instrumental track features monstrous guitar riffs that go alongside a powerful drum play. Backed with a subtle distorted bass line and violin chords that’ll keep you on your toes.

                After that explosive instrumental, Jack White takes a break on breaking a sweat and gives us his point of view on our current society in a more ‘’down-to-earth’’ way. Those who are familiar with Jack White’s personality and work know that he abominates lack of effort and creativity. Himself coming from a humble background, he believes that ‘’a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure’’, as John Lennon once said. ‘’Entitlement’’ is not only a cry against social conformity, but also his view on our youth, which according to him is ‘’being lied to’’ by being told we deserve things since our birth when we’re ‘’not entitled to a single damn thing’’.

                This track links to ‘’Temporary Ground’’, that even though it has a cheery country/folk vibe to it, it talks about the ultimate issue of human life, its ephemerality.

                The whole album is very well consolidated. Every song feels heartfelt and follows this line that traces back to Jack White’s divorce, making it a very interesting and emotional project. Definitely worth of purchasing, since it’s a piece of art marking the turning point of an artist’s career.