The Raconteurs: Consolers Of The Lonely

The Raconteurs’ second album opens with the feint sounds of people talking and laughing as if at a party. The guitar kicks in, then the drums, and before you know it the whole band arrives rocking hard on the title track, much like the album appearing everywhere to the masses in all formats without the usual press or fanfare that accompanies releases nowadays. The song changes pace and melody depending on whether Jack White III, as he is credited here, or Brendan Benson is singing the lead. It’s an interesting juxtaposition that the music is so dynamic while the main character of the story is a shut-in drug addict of some sort “bored to tears.” “Salute Your Solution” continues the playfulness, and I love the distorted guitar sound at the bridge that continues throughout the rest of the song.

The band expands their musical palette as the album continues. On “You Don't Understand Me,” a piano leads and the band creates wonderful Beatles-esque harmonies on the chorus. On “Old Enough,” the fiddle gives the song a country-rock flavor but the organ keeps the emphasis on rock.

The remainder of this review can be read at Blogcritics.