Pop, rock & jazz, April 22 | The Sunday Times

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Pop, rock & jazz, April 22

Jack White is our pick of the week; plus a dud from Feeder and YADi as the Breaking Act

Mark Edwards, Dan Cairns, Stewart Lee and Clive Davis Published: 22 April 2012

CD of the week: Jack White - Blunderbuss CD of the week: Jack White - Blunderbuss (XL Recordings)

Pop & Rock pick

Jack White — Blunderbuss
 XL/Third Man XLCD566
 “Spiked heels make holes in a lifeboat,” Jack White sings on Sixteen Saltines, the second track on his debut solo album, throwing into doubt the “women and children first” strategy for leaving a sinking ship. From now on, it will be “casually dressed women and children first”. And lifeboats aren’t the only thing stilettos leave a hole in, judging by the “my woman done me wrong” and “love hurts” lyrics that dominate Blunderbuss — often accompanied with graphic violence. Given that White has apparently had his fingers slammed in a door, been punched on the nose, had his feet cut off and been force-fed “meds until I drop dead”, it’s a wonder he’s still capable of singing, let alone has the strength and inspiration to make one of the most interesting albums of his career. If his lyrics seem oppressively focused on

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