Boarding House Reach
by Jack White
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Mar 23, 2018
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 129 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 129
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 129
  3. Negative: 14 out of 129
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  1. Fruitus
    Apr 9, 2018
    0
    My god what happened to you Jack White? This is the least adventurous, unlistenable boring album i've heard in a very long time.
  2. JaneMetascore
    Dec 18, 2019
    0
    Jack White is not a poor man's songwriter, and is not a real songwriter to contend with. This falls so far beneath my expectations it amounts to nihil. From what we have learned we can only do better.
    This album is insultingly toddlerish, and childish to hear. This album is missing any and all creativity like it is wrong on every level.
  3. BroteinSupreme
    Aug 24, 2018
    2
    I didn't exactly expect such a difficult listen coming from the frontman of The White Stripes. The opening track is borderline painful, and a large amount of this album ends up sounding like a slam poetry session with a backing track--utterly unfocused and experimental in all the wrong ways.

    The occasional guitar riffs thrown in the middle of otherwise lackluster songs (one in    I didn't exactly expect such a difficult listen coming from the frontman of The White Stripes. The opening track is borderline painful, and a large amount of this album ends up sounding like a slam poetry session with a backing track--utterly unfocused and experimental in all the wrong ways.

    The occasional guitar riffs thrown in the middle of otherwise lackluster songs (one in particular being Why Walk a Dog?) may provide enough to keep your attention for a few minutes, but I'm not actually sure I could bear listening to this album more than once through. From what I've heard thus far, I don't want any of this to grow on me, and I would immediately question the sanity of anyone who thinks select songs from this album should receive airplay. Certain songs like Corporation and Hypermisophoniac take several minutes to get going, subjecting the listener to a barrage of beeps and bops (and in Corporation's case, an overtly annoying "who's with me?" that sounds like it's trying to mimic the female vocals on LCD's "Get Innocuous.") Over and Over and Over, what I've perceived as being the general favorite song on the album by fans is about as repetitive as it sounds, and the constant pitch-shifted female vocals grate against my ears. All of this combined makes the otherwise fantastic instrumentals and lyricism completely unenjoyable. On the other hand, you have songs on the tracklist like "Get In The Mind Shaft," which are impossible to qualify as anything other than sonic insanity. The pinnacle of lyricism on this album comes in the closer, Humoresque, which should be very telling considering that this song wasn't written Jack White, but rather by Al Capone.

    I guess when you're at this point in your career and you already have a reputation for being somewhat experimental, it's easy for fans to mistake an absolute mess for "the most experimental and out-of-left-field" album Jack White has ever been a part of. I could simply be jaded by pretentious albums flaunting their "experimental" labels, but solely based on sound, Boarding House Reach is a total hit or miss.

    Best Tracks: Humoresque, Get In the Mind Shaft
    Worst Track: All of the others.    … Expand
  4. maxfifteenchars
    May 22, 2018
    3
    You know how sometimes, after a disappointing first listen, you gradually gain an appreciation for the underlying genius of an album through repeated plays? That unfortunately hasn't worked with Jack White's Boarding House Reach. If anything, each subsequent listen has only confirmed my initial fear that this represents little more than a messy hodgepodge of half-baked musical ideas thatYou know how sometimes, after a disappointing first listen, you gradually gain an appreciation for the underlying genius of an album through repeated plays? That unfortunately hasn't worked with Jack White's Boarding House Reach. If anything, each subsequent listen has only confirmed my initial fear that this represents little more than a messy hodgepodge of half-baked musical ideas that can only generously be praised as "creative" or "interesting" (similar to how I'd politely describe my 4-year old's 'art' work).… Expand

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Most Discussed Album of 2018
88
#88 Most Shared Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. No Ripcord
    Apr 18, 2018
    60
    Boarding House Reach isn’t the easiest of listens, and at times sounds like an over-excited White has just pressed 'record' and let his absurdity run amok. However, its strong moments just about outnumber the less appealing ones, and White’s own creative juices are still being harvested in abundance.
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  2. Magnet
    Apr 17, 2018
    75
    What is by some distance the weirdest, wildest White we've yet encountered on record. [No. 150, p.60]
  3. Variety
    Mar 30, 2018
    90
    On Boarding House Reach, he goes well out of his way to re-scatter the puzzle, but it’s a divine enough mess.
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