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Untitled Jack White album

(Redirected from No Name (album))
"No Name (album)" redirects here. For other uses, see No Name.

No Name is the sixth studio album by American rock musician Jack White, first released on July 19, 2024, through Third Man Records. The album was initially a surprise, one-day-only vinyl release that was included with all purchases at Third Man Records store locations in Detroit, London, and Nashville. The vinyl itself was released completely unmarked, aside from "NO NAME" stamped on its white label, in a generic white sleeve. The album is scheduled to receive a wide release on August 2, 2024.

No Name
Studio album by
Jack White
ReleasedJuly 19, 2024 (2024-07-19)
Recorded2023–2024[1]
StudioThird Man (Nashville)[1]
Genre
Length43:03
LabelThird Man
ProducerJack White[1]
Jack White chronology
Entering Heaven Alive
(2022) 		No Name
(2024)

Composition

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Max Pilley of NME generally categorized No Name as a blues rock album with a production style done in the vein of garage rock.[2] Alex Hudson of Exclaim! considered the album to be a return to White's punk blues roots.[3] Many commentators noted the album's distinctly raw nature,[2][4][5] as well as a similarity to the sound championed by White when he initially became popular with the White Stripes.[3][6] Lee DeVito of the Detroit Metro Times described the album's sound as being "more stripped down and guitar-heavy" than White's previous two albums, Fear of the Dawn (2022) and Entering Heaven Alive (2022).[4] On his WDET-FM radio show, Ryan Patrick Hooper described the album as being "dirty, grimy, [and] gritty".[5]

Release

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The white label of the album's original vinyl release, showing its "NO NAME" stamp

On July 19, 2024, Third Man Records included a free 12-inch vinyl record with all purchases made at their store locations in Detroit, London, and Nashville, without offering customers any details about the record.[7] Employees at the locations were also not briefed about the record's contents, only being instructed by their management to include it with every purchase made free of charge.[8] The record was also mailed to certain members of the Third Man Vault vinyl subscription service.[8] The white-colored record consists of a generic white sleeve with a white label that only has "No Name" in all-capitals stamped onto it.[9] Side A of the record has "Heaven and Hell" etched into its dead wax area, while side B has "Black and Blue" etched into it.[8] The record was also given the catalog number TMR-1000.[4]

News about the record spread online through word of mouth after customers realized that Jack White was the artist of the record, and that it was an entirely new album of original recordings from him.[8] Detroit's public radio station WDET-FM also played a selection of songs from the album live on the air after radio show host Ryan Patrick Hooper obtained the album while shopping at Third Man earlier in the day.[10] Later that day, Third Man took to social media to encourage those who obtained the record to rip its audio digitally and share it online.[11] Vinyl copies of the album were put up for sale on eBay shortly after release, generally being priced between $500 and $1,000.[12]

Shortly after the album's release on July 27, White played a show at American Legion Post 82 in Nashville where new copies of No Name on a blue vinyl with a cover art, track titles, and liner notes were made available for attendees to purchase.[1] White announced on July 31 that No Name will receive a digital release on August 2 as well as releases on blue vinyl, limited to independent record stores, and standard black vinyl; Third Man stores will exclusively sell the album one day early.[13]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[14]
Metacritic87/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[16]
Exclaim!7/10[3]
The Guardian     [6]
Rolling Stone     [17]
Uncut     [18]

According to review aggregator Metacritic, No Name received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 from six critic scores.[15] The Guardian's Stevie Chick praised the album as one of White's best, calling it "dark, heavy, thrilling, beautiful." Chick wrote that the album finds White sounding "leaner and sharper than he has for some time" and commended it for recapturing his "gift for heavy rock studded with hooks and a pop-oriented lightness of step."[6] Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan lauded White's ability to merge the straightforward rock sound of his past with the experimental nature of his recent works, additionally complimenting the album's conciseness and certain moments that he felt were akin to the works of artists like Willie Dixon, Led Zeppelin, and the Stooges.[17] Alex Hudson of Exclaim! wrote that despite the album not being "quite as white-knuckled as the first time White made music like this, nor is it as hooky as those White Stripes songs that took them from underground weirdos to superstars", he nevertheless enjoyed White's return to the sound he originally broke out and became popular with.[3]

In regards to White's method of releasing No Name, Brian McCollum of the Detroit Free Press applauded White's choice to release the album secretly, without announcement, and only through vinyl, claiming that he "made a stand for rock mystique" as a result. He also felt that the album's physical-only release falling on the same day as the CrowdStrike outage added to the returned prestige of both vinyl records and physical media as a whole, adding that "the Internet was a sideshow to the real magic of White’s Friday gambit. The quiet album rollout wasn't just a clever, headline-grabbing gimmick. It was a throwback to the days when mystique meant something as a music lover."[19]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Jack White[1]

No Name track listing[1]
No.TitleLength
1."Old Scratch Blues"3:30
2."Bless Yourself"2:34
3."That's How I'm Feeling"3:11
4."It's Rough on Rats (If You're Asking)"4:09
5."Archbishop Harold Holmes"2:51
6."Bombing Out"2:32
7."What's the Rumpus?"3:23
8."Tonight (Was a Long Time Ago)"4:11
9."Underground"3:45
10."Number One With a Bullet"3:19
11."Morning at Midnight"3:05
12."Missionary"2:29
13."Terminal Archenemy Endling"4:04
Total length:43:03

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Jones, Abby (July 28, 2024). "Jack White's No Name Album Details Revealed at American Legion Post 82 Benefit In Nashville". Stereogum. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Pilley, Max (July 20, 2024). "Jack White surprise releases new album in Third Man shops, encourages fans to share it". NME. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Hudson, Alex (July 22, 2024). "'No Name' Is Jack White's Ferocious Return to Old-School Punk Blues". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c DeVito, Lee (July 19, 2024). "Jack White surprise drops new LP at Third Man Records". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Hudson, Alex (July 19, 2024). "Jack White Giving Away Unlabelled Copies of a New Solo Album". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Chick, Stevie (July 22, 2024). "Jack White: No Name review – terrific surprise album is his most White Stripes-esque solo release". The Guardian. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Wescott, Andrew (July 20, 2024). "Jack White has surprise dropped a new album, 'No Name', via Third Man Records stores". Dork. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d DeVille, Chris (July 19, 2024). "Third Man Shops Are Slipping a Secret New Jack White Album Into Customers' Bags". Stereogum. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  9. ^ Rolli, Bryan (July 19, 2024). "Did Jack White Secretly Release a New Album?". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  10. ^ Hooper, Ryan Patrick (July 19, 2024). "In The Groove: Jack White secretly dropped a new album, so WDET gave the world premiere". WDET-FM. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  11. ^ Young, Alex (July 19, 2024). "Jack White Encourages Fans to Rip His New Album". Consequence. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  12. ^ Graham, Adam (July 22, 2024). "Jack White's secret new album selling for up to $1,000 on eBay". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  13. ^ Aswad, Jem (July 31, 2024). "Jack White to Officially Release Surprise 'No Name' Album This Week". Variety. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  14. ^ "No Name by Jack White". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "No Name by Jack White Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  16. ^ Singh, Karan (July 24, 2024). "Jack White – No Name". Clash. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Dolan, Jon (July 22, 2024). "Jack White's Free Surprise Untitled New Album Really Kicks Ass". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  18. ^ Watts, Peter (July 23, 2024). "Jack White – No Name". Uncut. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  19. ^ McCollum, Brian (July 20, 2024). "Jack White didn't just release a surprise album — he made a stand for rock mystique". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
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