Jack White Battle Cry- Single Review

Single Review is posted every Monday (usually)

    With a new Jack White album on the way I found myself going back and listening to the last piece of music we heard him do earlier this year. This song was a promotional track called Battle Cry that White created for his joint venture with Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler. White, the Detroit native and huge Tigers fan that he is, went into business with Kinsler to create the baseball bat manufacturing company Warstic. Shortly after going into business together White created an instrumental to serve the twofold purpose of backing a commercial for the brand and to be Kinsler’s walk out music.

    The song was apparently trying to capture the primal feeling of a Native American hunter chasing down his prey, hence the inclusion of the tribal battle cries of Native Americans. Along with the battle cries, the track is dominated by some of the clearest and sharpest guitar work I’ve ever heard by White. I think that since this was for a commercial Jack decided to forgo the slightly lo-fi production he usually prefers and air on the side of making every sound tight and menacing.

    The main riff sounds reminiscent of Queen of The Stone Age to me, having fuzzed out guitar riffing that approaches metal at times. The guitar solo on the bridge is all Jack White however, with the signature pitch shifted screeching guitar solos that have long been a staple of White’s sound. He’s more subtle with it this time however as he lets the notes ring out and slowly shifts them up or down to make the warble off key. This effect creates a really off kilter and evil sounding shriek that I suppose is Jack’s own Battle Cry.

With how tight and focused the guitar sounds on this track I’d be curious to find out what Jack played for this recording. This doesn’t sound the Telecaster or Parsons Triple Jet he’s used for his first two solo albums. It does sound like it could be a higher output humbucker equip guitar, such as the EVH Wolfgang he was holding in the picture Third Man Records posted of him recording his new album. If this heavier and focused sound is foreshadowing some of his new album, I certainly won’t complain.

This track serves it’s purpose, it’s a pump up anthem that sounds sick behind an ad spot. Is it Jack’s best? No, for one it’s an instrumental and Jack’s love of simple melodies doesn’t transfer as well without vocals over top. You can see the track in the context of the commercial below.  

Single on Google Play

Single on Amazon

Single on ITunes