Artist

The Dead Weather

Nashville, United States • Formed 2009

The Dead Weather is a music group from Nashville, United States, active since 2009. Their discography on Gatefold includes 12 records.

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Albums tracked

168

In collections

2009

Since

Biography

The Dead Weather are an alternative rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee, United States in 2009. They consist of Alison Mosshart (vocals, guitar), Dean Fertita (guitar, organ), Jack Lawrence (bass, drums) and Jack White (drums, vocals, guitar). All members of the band are from other, well known alternative rock groups. Mosshart is a member of The Kills, Fertita is a member of Queens of the Stone Age, Lawrence is a member of The Greenhornes and The Raconteurs and White was a member of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs.

The Arc of The Dead Weather

The pivots — what forced The Dead Weather to reinvent.

The Horehound Sessions
The band formed almost by accident at the opening of Third Man’s Nashville headquarters in 2009. They recorded the debut in a frantic burst, using White’s signature dead-room drum sound and Mosshart’s unpolished, first-take vocals. You hear the spontaneity in the way the songs almost fall apart, specifically on tracks like 'Will There Be Enough Water?' where the blues influence is stripped of any stadium polish. It was a rejection of the high-concept artifice found on the later White Stripes records.
The Sea of Cowards Expansion
By 2010, the band moved away from the raw blues-stomp and started huffing synthesizer fumes. Dean Fertita’s role expanded as he leaned harder into weird, modulated organ tones and fuzz-drenched keys. The production got denser and meaner, trading the open space of the first record for a claustrophobic, aggressive wall of noise. This is where they stopped being a Raconteurs spinoff and started sounding like a proper goth-garage nightmare.
The Dodge and Burn Slow-Burn
Because every member was tied up in massive world tours for their other bands, the final album was recorded in scattered sessions over three years. This fractured schedule actually tightened the songwriting, leading to more complex arrangements like the heavy riffage on 'I Feel Love (Every Million Miles).' They didn't reinvent the wheel here, but they perfected the interplay between White’s frantic drumming and Lawrence’s fuzzy, locked-in bass lines. It was a victory lap that proved the chemistry wasn't just a one-off fluke from 2009.

Influences

Captain Beefheart — Jack White has cited 'Trout Mask Replica' as a foundational text for his approach to rhythm. You hear that fractured, jagged syncopation in the way the drums and guitars fight each other on 'The Difference Between Us.' It's blues music played through a broken kaleidoscope.
The Stooges — Alison Mosshart has constantly pointed to Iggy Pop as her North Star for live performance and vocal grit. The unhinged, dangerous energy on '60 Feet Tall' is a direct descendant of the 'Fun House' sessions. It’s about the attitude and the physical threat of the vocal more than the melody.
The Birthday Party — The band's penchant for gothic, swampy atmospherics mirrors the early work of Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard. The screeching guitar feedback and dark lyrical themes on 'Sea of Cowards' carry that same post-punk dread. They traded the bright lights for a permanent shadow.
Led Zeppelin — The heavy, distorted blues-rock backbone is a clear nod to Jimmy Page, especially in how White produces his own drum sounds to mimic John Bonham's massive room resonance. You can hear that 'Physical Graffiti' weight in the opening stomp of 'Treat Me Like Your Mother.' It’s the art of the heavy riff used as a blunt instrument.
The Kills — Since Mosshart was literally half of this duo, the minimalist garage-rock DNA was baked into the Dead Weather from day one. The rhythmic, lo-fi aesthetic of 'Keep on Your Mean Side' provided the blueprint for her vocal delivery. You can't have the Dead Weather's swagger without the Kills' skeletal frame.