By Jeremiah Tucker
THE JOPLIN GLOBE (JOPLIN, Mo.)
JOPLIN, Mo.
Mon, May 12 2008
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Like a member of the Starship Enterprise, one moment the new album by The Raconteurs isn’t there and the next it materializes out of thin air.
Avoiding the standard monthslong pre-album massaging of the press and blogosphere and the slow, coy trickle of information that precedes major releases, The Raconteurs, Jack White’s other band, finished recording “Consolers of the Lonely” earlier this month and released it on Tuesday with almost no advanced warning.
The reason, according to a press release from The Raconteurs, is they “wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding its availability, reception or perception.” (The cynic might point out that the surest way to generate some press in these uncertain times for the music industry is to buck the standard distribution procedure. See Radiohead’s pay-what-you-want download scheme last year.)
I like this idea because normally I’m anticipating an album for months before I finally get to hear it, so a world in which a new album from a favorite band might appear at any time is a welcome one. Except, to quote the title track off “Consolers of the Lonely,” The Raconteurs first album, 2006’s “Broken Boy Soldiers,” had me “bored to tears.” So I wasn’t exactly breathless to hear the new one.
But “Consolers of the Lonely” is a much better effort. Lead single “Salute Your Solution” is more aggressive and engaging than anything on “Broken Boy Soldiers,” and the album may very well be White’s best work as a vocalist — not merely hollering or relying on his weird, manic whiny but actually singing. The songs are sturdy and richly detailed with a nice balance between White and Brendan Benson. Benson gives a great, relaxed vocal performance over the white soul and horns of “Many Shades of Black,” one of the album’s strongest tracks, and White has numerous opportunities to sling his guitar.
Yet, while there’s much to admire about “Consolers of the Lonely,” I’ve found little to love. After numerous listens there’s something oddly anonymous about it. With The White Stripes, White mines the same traditions that The Raconteurs are working with here — vintage rock, blues and country — but filtering it through the minimalism of guitar, drums and the occasional dinky piano he created a ferocious, exuberant sound. With The Raconteurs, there’s more craft here than personality.
The one major exception, however, is the closing track “Carolina Drama.” With this sprawling, bluesy murder ballad about a boy killing his stepfather with a milk bottle, The Raconteurs finally live up to their name. White, on vocal duties for this song, is perfect in this setting. It’s a strange song, and while White’s guitar could have probably carried it, it follows the rest of the album’s tendency to be dense with small details. With no chorus, the verses are set off with interludes of twinkling piano and a quiet, spectral female voice singing a wordless “ah ahh ah” offsetting the rising action of the story. The song picks up steam with each verse, and the pauses for reflection eventually give way to a feverish climax and a full-band, bloodthirsty “la la la”.
The Raconteurs could do well as professional storytellers using the obvious talents of their band to add tension and drama to their tales. It might give them the focus and distinction they’re lacking, and the results would certainly have more grit (and testosterone) than The Decemberists.
Jeremiah Tucker writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
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Jeremiah Tucker THE JOPLIN GLOBE (JOPLIN, Mo.)