Consolers of the Lonely
First Impressions on the Newest Album from The Raconteurs
Consolers of the Lonely, by The Raconteurs, is a romp through rock. With help from the rest of the rock supergroup Jack White has assembled, this sophomore album shines.
There's a little bit of everything in Consolers of the Lonely, the second album by The Raconteurs which was only announced a week before its release. With influences from Led Zeppelin, The Who, and the musicians themselves, The Raconteurs blend almost every form of rock into an aggressive, exciting, and somehow inventive album. The vocals and guitar of Jack White and Brendan Benson continue to mesh well, and as with their debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers, the entire band has a chemistry that is nearly unheard of in a side project.
The Cons: Too much is Enough
While their debut album suggested a sound that was merely different from the musicians’ previous recordings, The Raconteurs have expanded on this sound in the new album merely by turning the volume up to eleven. This isn’t entirely a bad thing; the band has an aggressive sound that is something of a cathartic experience for Jack White. The band allows the members (White especially) to break away from the conventions of their main projects and simply rock out. But one can only create an intense sound like this for so long, right?
Not necessarily. Although the sound does wear thin towards the end of this lengthy album (55 minutes), it only wavers noticeably in “Attention”, and there is not one full song which leaves you wanting more. Yet you are still left a question posed by Benson and White in “Top Yourself”: how is the band going to top itself after this album? You can’t fit too much more energy into an album like this without it going stale, and although the style they have established is a shining example of high-octane rock, it’s one that’s difficult to maintain.
The Pros: A Simply Amazing Album
That being said, for the present, all is well for The Raconteurs. The album starts off with a bang, and the power thrown out by “Consoler of the Lonely” stays for track two, the single “Salute Your Solution.” The lyrical flow fluctuates between songs as well; another benefit of having two singer-songwriters in the band. Jack White’s breakneck delivery and amazing storytelling shine in the single, as well as the closing track, “Carolina Drama”. Brendon Benson’s style, a fusion of traditional blues and classic rock, provides a good counterpoint for White and the two mold each others’ vocals and guitars to create powerful songs, many of which are reminiscent of Led Zeppelin.
This leads in to the factor which makes this album so strange: The Raconteurs are technically a side project, yet they manage to establish a sound distinctly different from any of the musicians’ projects, although influences are certainly drawn. The Raconteurs function beautifully as a side project; they interact better as a group than most normal rock bands. Influence from every artist is obvious in the music, even the unofficial member, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age. These friends have created a supergroup to be reckoned with; and if their next album is as dynamic and exhilarating as Consolers of the Lonely, The Raconteurs will certainly leave their mark on rock.
The Bottom Line
9.0/10. Consolers of the Lonely showcases the talent of The Raconteurs in a modern rock album which draws influences from the old while maintaining a sound that is distinctly new.
