The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely

Warner Bros. 2008

Rating: 9/10

Indie supergroup the Raconteurs, consisting of Jack White, Brendan Benson, and the Greenhornes’ rhythm section, released Consolers of the Lonely a week before its release, doing away with pretty much any pre-release media hype, and the album’s raw, bluesy sound reflects this choice.

Unlike their debut, Broken Boy Soldiers, their latest does away with any attempt at musical exploration, with guitarist White cranking the amp to 11 on every song and the rhythm section running a tight ship. The title track is a refreshing blast of guitar freakout and anthemic drum pounding, and single “Salute Your Solution” only continues to up the energy with a funky bass line and White’s wild yelping.

Benson’s and White’s lyrical matchups populate the lyrics with desperate tales of outlaws and love, and the album’s energy refuses to flag, switching from New Orleans-style horn riffs to White Stripes-esque stadium guitar antics to a bouncy harmonica/fiddle solo on “Old Enough.” Consolers of the Lonely aims the Raconteurs down a single path paved with simple rock ‘n roll, and in doing so produces a hell of a lot more fun than they’d ever before recorded.

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