[Lead photo by Floria Sigismondi; live photos by Andrew Parks]

By Courtney Balestier

In case you haven’t heard the news, Jack White’s in another band. That’s right—the musical mastermind behind the White Stripes and the Raconteurs is on the road again with the Dead Weather. Any White fan—hell, any modern rock fan, period—will recognize the lineup: on vocals, Alison Mosshart of the Kills, who toured with The Raconteurs last year; from the Raconteurs, bassist Jack Lawrence; and from the Raconteurs’ touring lineup and Queens of the Stone Age, guitarist Dean Fertita. That leaves Mr. White not with his familiar guitar, but with his long lost lover, the drum kit. White also produced the band’s forthcoming album, Horehound, at his soup-to-nuts Nashville studio, Third Man.

Before you start freaking out about when the next White Stripes album is coming out, or whether the Ambassador of Rock is stretching himself too thin, know this: the Dead Weather is fierce, a sexy/dirty listen that’s the sonic equivalent of locking lips with a stranger in the dimmest corner of a dive bar.

self-titled spent some quality time with the band on Monday night, as they touched down in New York for their first public gig. (That’s excluding an invite-only gig at Third Man, which we’re pretty sure you weren’t invited to. Unless your name is Sheryl Crow … or Meg White. In that case, we apologize for making assumptions.)