Sea of Cowards

{{Infobox album

| name = Sea of Cowards

| type = studio

| artist = The Dead Weather

| cover = TDW SeaOfCowards cover.jpg

| alt =

| released = {{Start date|2010|5|11}}

| recorded = December 2009

| studio = Third Man Studio, Nashville, Tennessee

| venue =

| genre = {{flatlist|

Rock
blues rock{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/may/06/dead-weather-sea-of-cowards-cd-review | title=The Dead Weather: Sea of Cowards | newspaper=The Guardian | date=May 6, 2010 | accessdate=July 22, 2015 | author=Hahn, Michael}}

}}

| length = 35:12

| label = Warner Bros./Third Man

| producer = Jack White

| prev_title = Horehound

| prev_year = 2009

| next_title = Dodge and Burn

| next_year = 2015

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Sea of Cowards

| type = studio

| single1 = Die By The Drop

| single1date = March 30, 2010

| single2 = Blue Blood Blues

| single2date = June 23, 2010

}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 70/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/sea-of-cowards/the-dead-weather|title=Reviews for Sea of Cowards by The Dead Weather|work=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|date=May 11, 2010|accessdate=2015-08-17}}

| rev1 = Allmusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1791745|pure_url=yes}}|title=Allmusic review}}

| rev2 = BLARE Magazine

| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}Blare staff (May 10, 2010), [http://blaremagazine.com/2010/05/10/album-reviews-10-5-10 "ALBUM REVIEWS – 10/5/10"]. Retrieved November 21, 2014.

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3Score = (B+)Vozick-Levinson, Simon (May 5, 2010), [https://web.archive.org/web/20100510020746/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20366730,00.html "Sea of Cowards (2010)"]. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 21, 2014.

| rev4 = L.A. Times

| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/05/album-review-the-dead-weathers-sea-of-cowards.html |title=L.A. Times review | work=Los Angeles Times | date=May 10, 2010}}

| rev5 = NME

| rev5Score = {{Rating|8|10}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/the-dead-weather/11280 |title=NME review|website=NME|date=10 May 2010}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork Media

| rev6Score = (7.8/10)Breihan, Tom (May 11, 2010), [https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14237-sea-of-cowards/ "The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards"]. Pitchfork. Retrieved November 21, 2014.

| rev7 = Rolling Stone

| rev7Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/;kw=%5B14339,148766%5D|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513015015/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/;kw=%5B14339,148766%5D|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 13, 2010|title=Rolling Stone review|magazine = Rolling Stone}}

| rev8 = Slant Magazine

| rev8Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/the-dead-weather-sea-of-cowards/2107 |title=Slant review|website=Slant Magazine|date=12 May 2010}}

| rev9 = Spin

| rev9Score = {{Rating|4|5}}Anderson, Stacey (May 24, 2010), [http://spin.com/reviews/dead-weather-sea-cowards-third-manwarner-bros "The Dead Weather, 'Sea of Cowards' (Third Man/Warner Bros.)"]. Spin. Retrieved November 21, 2014.

}}

Sea of Cowards is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band the Dead Weather. It was first released on May 7 in Ireland, then on May 11, 2010, in the U.S. and May 10 in the United Kingdom.

The album was streamed on the band's website, via continuous vinyl playback, for a period of 24 hours from April 30 to May 1. It was subsequently available for streaming on various media streaming websites such as National Public Radio and KCRW. The album was rated number 11 on Rolling Stone{{'}}s list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010."[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/30-best-albums-of-2010-20101213 The 30 Best Albums of 2010]". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2010). Retrieved (January 18, 2011)]

Background and release

In 2009, the group worked on 15 songs over three days at White's Nashville studio, Third Man Records.Nagy, Evie (May 15, 2010), "Sea of Cowards." Billboard. 122 (19):32 They reconvened at the studio in December, and recorded the album in three weeks. The vinyl LP version was pressed at United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tennessee.United Record Pressing staff (May 12, 2010), [https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.389881034774.172182.45121499774&type=3 "Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards - Split Color!!!"]. Facebook. Retrieved November 21, 2014.

On May 3, before the album's release, the band played a special show at White's Third Man Records where Sea Of Cowards was played in its entirety. The show was streamed on MySpace and subsequently appeared on the band's YouTube channel.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thirdmanrecords.com/news8.html |title=||| Third Man Records ||| |access-date=2011-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222102310/http://thirdmanrecords.com/news8.html |archive-date=2010-12-22 |url-status=dead }} The performance was released on 12" vinyl through the Third Man Records' Vault subscription service, recorded live to analog tape and pressed directly to vinyl. This is in contrast to the controversial mastering process of the original album.{{cite web |url=http://modlife.com/thirdmanrecords/news/0/5/13864/vault_package_#_5_(“the_dream_child”) |title=The Vault // Third Man Records // News |website=modlife.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714110216/http://modlife.com/thirdmanrecords/news/0/5/13864/vault_package_ |archive-date=2011-07-14}}

Composition

According to Billboard magazine, "the grinding blues that drives tracks like 'Hustle and Cuss' and 'Gasoline' take the Dead Weather to a new level of intensity." Brisbane periodical mX identified the song as "a grimy road trip through voodoo blues, garage rock and even metal."Read, Michelle et al. (May 06, 2010), "SPINNING AROUND". mX Brisbane :21

Reception

=Critical=

Sea of Cowards received generally favorable reviews, ratings with Metacritic rating of "70." Giving the album a B+, Entertainment Weekly said it was "35 minutes of furious guitar solos and demonic howls." Spin magazine gave the work eight out of ten stars, and said that Mosshart and White "harness this icy alpha-dog tension into a distorted call-and-response aggression that's now greater than its parts, a rudely heavy swath of rock'n'roll authority." Pitchfork rated Sea of Cowards at 7.8 (out of ten), noting that "it's a heavy, snarly, physical rock album, and it feels like the work of people so secure in their ass-kicking abilities that they don't have to sweat the details." Blare magazine remarked that the album "combines the group’s sinister attitude with dreary funk and sex appeal."

=Commercial=

The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 5,{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/2010-05-29 |title= Billboard 200 |magazine=Billboard |date= May 29, 2010 }} and No. 3 on Top Rock Albums.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/rock-albums/2010-05-29 |title= Top Rock Albums |magazine=Billboard |date= May 29, 2010 }} It has sold 171,000 copies in the US as of September 2015.{{cite magazine|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20150917090733/http://hitsdailydouble.com/new_album_releases |archivedate= September 17, 2015 |url=http://hitsdailydouble.com/new_album_releases |title=Upcoming Releases |magazine=Hits Daily Double |publisher=HITS Digital Ventures }}

Track listing

{{track listing

| title1 = Blue Blood Blues

| length1 = 3:22

| title2 = Hustle and Cuss

| length2 = 3:45

| title3 = The Difference Between Us

| length3 = 3:36

| title4 = I'm Mad

| length4 = 3:16

| title5 = Die by the Drop

| length5 = 3:30

| title6 = I Can't Hear You

| length6 = 3:35

| title7 = Gasoline

| length7 = 2:44

| title8 = No Horse

| length8 = 2:50

| title9 = Looking at the Invisible Man

| length9 = 2:42

| title10 = Jawbreaker

| length10 = 2:58

| title11 = Old Mary

| length11 = 2:52

}}

On CD versions, there is a 36 second instrumental pre-gap track hidden before "Blue Blood Blues".

There are also two additional "bonus" songs pressed on the label of Sea of Cowards vinyl.{{ref}}

Personnel

Alison Mosshart: lead vocals, maracas, rhythm guitar, synthesizer
Jack White: drums, vocals, guitar
Dean Fertita: lead guitar, organ, piano, synthesizer
Jack Lawrence: bass, drums

Appearances in the media

The album's opening song, "Blue Blood Blues", was featured in the final episode of Season Two of the HBO comedy Eastbound & Down in 2010. The album's song "I Can't Hear You" was featured in the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love and is a playable song in the guitar-themed video game Rocksmith. It also played over the 2019 Giorgio Armani Acqua di Giò Absolu Instinct men’s fragrance ad.

Charts

Chart (2010) ! Peak position
class="wikitable"
{{Album chart\|Australia\|28\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|Austria\|24\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|Flanders\|27\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|Wallonia\|51\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|BillboardCanada\|6\|artist=The Dead Weather }}
{{Album chart\|Denmark\|27\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|France\|30\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|Germany4\|47\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards\|id=130951\|access-date=9 December 2021}}
{{Album chart\|Greece\|18\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{album chart\|Ireland\|55\|year=2010\|week=19}}
{{Album chart\|Netherlands\|76\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|Norway\|11\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|Switzerland\|19\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|New Zealand\|13\|artist=The Dead Weather\|album=Sea of Cowards}}
{{Album chart\|UK\|32\|artist=Dead Weather}}
{{Album chart\|Billboard200\|5\|artist=The Dead Weather }}
{{Album chart\|BillboardAlternative\|2\|artist=The Dead Weather }}
{{Album chart\|BillboardRock\|3\|artist=The Dead Weather }}
{{Album chart\|BillboardTastemaker\|1\|artist=The Dead Weather }}