Review: Consolers Of The Lonely – The Raconteurs

Jack White is legit gold. The White Stripes were only sellable for so much, but after the resounding success of Icky Thump heâ??s become a highly marketable commodity. So now he finds himself making cameos in films, appearing in The Simpsons and writing music for cola commercials. His studio credentials stand tall, and in this enviable catalog of music and media appearances shines the work of The Raconteurs.

2006â??s Broken Boy Soldiers announced the arrival of The Raconteurs with much gusto. An album that saw a decidedly robust and spirited rock soundscape, BBS was seen as a one-off side project of White and the bandâ??s other illustrious members. However, just a couple of weeks earlier, the music press wires were abuzz with news of another Raconteurs release. Without much promotion or publicity, the album was unleashed on unsuspecting indie masses.

At first listen, Consolers of the Lonely comes off a bold piece. Itâ??s striking, strong and tells of a band thatâ??s growing with its music. One can sense a definite Icky Thump rub-off as the album roars through riff after riff and thumping four by fours. With classic rock trappings a la Led Zeppelin, Consolers makes for an invigorating listen. The eponymous album opener sets the tone for the record. From a lazy, bluesy refrain it blasts into a crashing, atmospheric exaggeration. Itâ??s almost vulgar the way the band has found its stride with terrific progressions that carry songs effortlessly through tempo changes and a variety of greasy distortions.

The first single, â??Salute Your Solutionâ?? revisits diesel powered early â??80s rock with Whiteâ??s nasal overtones only adding to the confusing mélange of classic garage rock goodness. It shows a band thatâ??s really not just a fanciful side project, but something more substantial and lasting. This is further proved by the â??mellowerâ?? side of the record that features a moody pick of piano parts and plucky guitar sections. Songs like the vividly descriptive â??Carolina Dramaâ?? and â??You Donâ??t Understand Meâ?? provided much needed reprieve from the thrashy rock attack and add to the completeness of an album, something the band was unable to do on Broken Boy Soldiers. And the best part is, White and Co make it sound easy.

So here we see a band that jumps the shark from one-off curiosity to stadium rock without breaking into as much as a strobe light induced sweat. Perhaps the song â??The Switch And The Spurâ?? sums it up best. It builds from light piano intro, to trumpeteering madness, to cutting guitar riff to Spinal Tap tribute all in the span of four and a half minutes. And it fits.

Consolers is a wonderfully complete rock experience. Itâ??s cheeky, aggressive and moody; everything youâ??d want to from a record you can listen to on repeat. It may even be the first really great album of 2008. Go, buy.

Indiecision: A-

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