Fear of the Dawn

by Jack White

Overview

One of two records Jack White wrote and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fear of the Dawn is a brittle, cacophonic affair, a claustrophobic exploration of the titular idea. White came across the notion of eosophobia -- a Greek term for dreading the dawn -- then used that concept as the backbone for his heavier, weirder songs, leaving the softer material for the subsequent Entering Heaven Alive. He's so besotted with this phobia that he's titled a quarter of the album's 12 songs after it, then wrote additional songs called "Into the Twilight," "Dusk," and "Morning, Noon and Night," giving Fear of the Dawn a thematic lyrical thread to accompany its arty freak-outs. Many of White's familiar tropes are readily apparent here -- heavy-footed blues stomps, manic vocal wails, cascading waves of guitar fuzz -- but the execution and feel are different here, as if the analog warrior has plunged himself into digital madness. Acoustic guitars and the occasional piano can be heard on the margins, yet they're buried underneath gnarled, noisy guitars that are flattened, processed, and used as weapons. White speeds and slows his voice along with his six-string, his rhythms stutter and strut, melodies are used as much for texture as they are for hooks. The focus isn't on a song, per se, as much is it is on mood, namely a roiling, consuming paranoia conveyed by all this furious noise and off-kilter arrangements. Fear of the Dawn isn't often a pleasant listen, but it wasn't meant to be: it's a dark adventure, an album designed to provoke and stoke fears, not to soothe them. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	04/08/2022
Label:	Third Man Records
UPC:	0196292797725

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jack White   Primary Artist,Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Sampling,Theremin,Percussion,Vibraphone,Synthesizer,Sampled Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Patricia Saunders   Fonts
Richard Isbell   Fonts
Robin Nicholas   Fonts
Scarlett White   Guitar (Bass)
Mark Watrous   Juno,Synthesizer
Q-Tip   Vocals,Handclapping
Casey Burns   Fonts
Jack Lawrence   Guitar (Bass)
Duane Denison   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Quincy McCrary   Synthesizer,Vocal Harmony
Dominic Davis   Guitar (Bass)
Daru Jones   Drums
Olivia Jean   Guitar Feedback,Guitar (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Jason Edmiston   Assistant
Justin Erickson   Assistant
Sara Deck   Artwork
Bruce Yan   Artwork
George J. Herriman III   Artwork
Gigi Hull   Production Assistant
Jennifer Dionsio   Artwork
Mikel Janin   Artwork
Morgan Perry   Production Director
Johnny Dombrowski   Artwork
Jon Hendricks   Composer
Jay Graydon   Composer
Bill Skibbe   Mixing,Engineer,Mastering
Jack Palmer   Composer
Dan Mancini   Assistant Engineer
Jack White   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Frank Paparelli   Composer
Dizzy Gillespie   Composer
Kamaal Fareed   Composer
Cab Calloway   Composer
Buster Harding   Composer
The Third Man   Package Design
Alan Paul   Composer
Joshua V. Smith   Mixing,Engineer
Ben Jenkins   Artwork
Rob Jones   Package Design
Jordan Williams   Creative Director
Olivia Jean   Artwork