The Raconteurs is Out

So why don't you own it yet?

It's pretty damned awesome. And they sprung it on us really quick, Radiohead style.

The new album is called "Consolers of the Lonely", and is by my calculations twice as big as their debut, "Broken Boy Soldiers", which I've talked about before. It also seems that they've thrown more money at it this time around, judging by the fact that everything here seems incredibly polished (not "from poland"-ed... God, that was AWFUL) and shiny.

And so, so wonderful. The title track opens this mother with a typical Jack White blues boogie and then slides effortlessly into Brendan Benson's lyrics, displaying not a little White Stripes flair... and then BAM!!! Jack White makes his vocal debut 1:16 in, screaming his Jack White lungs out and slowing the whole song to a simmering Jack White groove, at which I actually giggled with delight. Ahem.
The rest of the album takes a similarly rocking tone, albiet with some distinctly Jack and Brendan turns. Lead single "Salute Your Salution" is merely good at first then rocking towards the end, the piano-y ballads "Pull This Blanket Off" and "You Don't Understand Me" work extremely well, and the zany and utterly rocking "Five on the Five" is nothing if not outstanding.
The stand out track, though, is the overblown, Benson driven western anthem "The Switch and the Spur", which is destined surely to be a spectacle at gigs, what with its epic breakdowns, blues solos and mexican horns.

All in all, this album is an outstanding follow-up to an outstanding debut. The band does not fall into the trap of treading on identical ground to the White Stripes, and in that regard this album is wholly original and outstanding. Every song is an essential listen, combining psychadelia, blues, piano pop and hard rock- creating a veritable milkshake of pop perfection. Five freaking stars.