Jack White has announced the latest addition to his extensive discography, a brand new solo album entitled Lazaretto.
The follow-up to White’s 2012 solo debut, Blunderbuss, the new record is set for release via the musician’s own Third Man Records in association with Columbia on 10th June. The official lead single for the album is to be its title track, ‘Lazaretto’ (which is the vintage Italian term for quarantine ports for maritime travellers – there you go).
But White has already shared the first taste of his new music with ‘High Ball Stepper’, a blustering instrumental track that comes complete with a visual accompaniment of paint and other materials being artfully misshapen and distorted by huge sets of speakers.
As for the cut itself, it features plenty of familiar White sonic trappings. There’s a dirty backend of growling guitar and drums with a few breaks for wonky patterns on the ol’ ivories and some screeching six-string lines. All in all, it’s a tasty entree to White’s latest set of material.
There’s also a lavish limited edition of Lazaretto available exclusively through Third Man Records’ Vault subscription service, with registrations for the package open through to the end of April.
The Vault edition features Lazaretto on coloured blue-and-white vinyl, fold out poster, 7” record featuring demos of Lazaretto tracks ‘Alone In My Home’ and ‘Entitlement’, a postcard, plus a 40-page hardbound book of lyrics, annotations, art, and photos (take a peek at the full contents at bottom).
White is set to showcase his new set of material at a series of upcoming festival appearances, locked in for New York’s Governors Ball, Bonnarroo, and Forecastle Festival, hopefully with more expansive world tour plans set to follow. His last visit to Australia was as part of the Splendour In The Grass 2012 lineup, along with a series of headline sideshows with two sets of bands: one all-male, the other all-female.
Lazaretto isn’t the only new album the singer-performer-producer has been working on, White’s other high-profile band, The Dead Weather, have been recording for a new album set for release in 2015. Ahead of releasing the full-length follow-up – their first since 2010’s Sea Of Cowards – the band will issue a series of two-song sets throughout the rest of 2014 via Third Man Records.
including stops at Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and Forecastle Festival. White’s other group the Dead Weather will also return with a new album in 2015, and will release a series of two-song sets throughout this year via Third Man Records’ Vault series.
View the artwork and special edition details for Lazaretto below.
