New Music: The Dead Weather, Discovery

A couple of records recently caught our attention. They're both new side projects that feature members of bands we already know and love.

The first, The Dead Weather, features Jack White of The White Stripes and The Racounteurs, Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Queens of the Stone Age's Dean Fertita and Raconteur Jack Lawrence. Their debut album, Horehound, has a swampy blues quality we liked.

Jay-Z says Auto-Tune is dead, but apparently someone didn’t get the memo--the band Discovery, headlined by Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot.

You'd think this band would be doomed from the start, considering its West African pop influences and use of Auto-Tune (not the most respected musical tool these days), but they're managing to make a go of it.

Our pop music critic Bill Slammon gave us his take on both bands. Bill is a clinical psychologist at the Winchester School in Winchester, NH. He hosts the music show Saturday Morning on WVEW in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Horehound by The Dead Weather

LP by Discovery