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Jan 12, 2018 Jack White By Christopher Roberts

On Wednesday Jack White announced a new solo album, Boarding House Reach, and shared two songs from it: “Connected By Love” (via a video) and “Respect Commander.” But details on the album were in short supply. Now he has announced the release date and shared the cover art and tracklist. Above is the cover art, below is the tracklist, along with other details.

Boarding House Reach is due out March 23 on Third Man and Columbia. The album was written in a sparse Nashville apartment with few distractions on the same type of basic equipment White had when he was 15, including a four-track recorder. A press release promises that “the album explores a remarkable range of sonic terrain—crunching rock ‘n’ roll, electro and hard funk, proto punk, hip hop, gospel blues, and even country —all remapped and born anew to fit White’s matchless vision and sense of restless experimentation.”

White self-produced the album, which was recorded in Nashville at Third Man Studio, at Sear Sound in New York, and at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. White plays acoustic and electric guitars, drums, organ, and synthesizers on the album. The press release lists an extensive list of other musicians who contributed to the album: “drummer Louis Cato (Beyoncé, Q-Tip, John Legend, Mariah Carey), bassists Charlotte Kemp Muhl (The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger) and NeonPhoenix (Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z), synthesizer players DJ Harrison and Anthony ‘Brew’ Brewster (Fishbone, The Untouchables), keyboardists Neal Evans (Soulive, Talib Kweli, John Scofield) and Quincy McCrary (Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Pitbull), percussionists Bobby Allende (David Byrne, Marc Anthony) and Justin Porée (Ozomatli), and backing vocalists Esther Rose and Ann & Regina McCrary of Nashville’s beloved gospel trio, The McCrary Sisters, as well as longtime collaborators like drummers Daru Jones (Nas, Talib Kweli) and Carla Azar (Autolux, Depeche Mode, Doyle Bramhall II). Singer-songwriter C.W. Stoneking also appears, contributing a stirring spoken word performance to the album’s ‘Abulia and Akrasia.’”

There will be a limited edition vinyl version of the album available via Third Man’s Vault series. A press release describes it as such: “The 180-gram, blue and black swirl vinyl edition features exclusive Vault-only cover art which dramatically depicts White’s stylized face and is printed on arresting holographic foil paper in the classic Stoughton tip-on style. The LP is further accompanied by a unique-to-this-package 12” x 24” insert featuring the complete album lyrics. The Boarding House Reach Vault package also includes a two-song demo 7-inch single, offering up embryonic versions of ‘Connected By Love’ and the album track, ‘Why Walk a Dog?’ The former take - billed here under its original title, ‘Infected By Love’ - was recorded entirely by White in the aforementioned Nashville apartment.” You have until January 31 to order the limited edition. The cover art for the Vault version is below.

Back in December White shared a video for a new sound collage he was calling “Servings and Portions From My Boarding House Reach.” Clearly it was a teaser for the new album. Pasqual Gutierrez directed the “Connected By Love” video, which features White and various strangers preparing for the end of the world. Both “Connected By Love” and “Respect Commander” are available digitally now and as a 7-inch single and are below again.

Boarding House Reach Tracklist:

1. Connected By Love
2. Why Walk a Dog?
3. Corporation
4. Abulia and Akrasia
5. Hypermisophoniac
6. Ice Station Zebra
7. Over and Over and Over
8. Everything You’ve Ever Learned
9. Respect Commander
10. Ezmerelda Steals The Show
11. Get In The Mind Shaft
12. What’s Done Is Done
13. Humoresque

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