The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

MOGstars 9/10Smuggled onto the shelves with a minimum of hype, save for the publicity garnered by an unfortunate iTunes leak, Consolers of the Lonely is the second album from “Jack White’s other band”. Taking up from where 2006’s Broken Boy Soldiers took of this is a record infused with blues, Americana and bourbon. Born in a communal band-house in Nashville the album comes out snarling and scrapping with the band’s live-in-the-studio ethic keeping a loose rein on ferocity and frenzy.Lead single Salute You Solution is a violent outburst of fuzzy guitars, writhing with a lo-fi prickliness, combined with White’s scream-like vocals. The three minute bust pulls the listener in every direction, a fully fledged attack of musicality that confuses the ears with screeching guitar licks and growling basslines struggling to breathe beneath the rest of the track – yet the feeling of raw rock’n’rock shines through.Yet given any opportunity the band show their talents stretch far beyond country noisemakers - Many Shades of Black shines with horn blasts and a chorus that could’ve been snatched from Elton John. White’s singing here is more distinct than elsewhere on the record, and without the fog of noise the bands lyrical accomplishment is plain to see. However the real charm comes from here comes from the lead guitar, as bluegrass and glam rock seem to lock horns.Subdued blues fable Carolina Drama stands as the highlight to the record, tucked in as the final of a meandering fourteen tunes. Stripped of much of the overbearing aspects of The Raconteurs sound, White takes on the role of Southern Bard with aplomb, whilst the fiddles and guitars take a back seat, a mumbling malevolence in their throats, rather than an extroverted scream. Drawing on the ballad favourites of betrayal and murder, the track draws to a melancholy climax of disenchanted lala-ing, White ultimately appearing like a less threatening Nick Cave.While the album lacks some of the pop sensibilities of Broken Boy Soldiers – you’d struggle to find a single to rival Steady As She Goes here – it remains an enticing and impressive record. Country freakout Old Enough will draw the most hardened of cowboys onto the dancefloor, yet still retains White’s usual panache for insightful lyrics and Five on the Five could easily be the soundtrack to a great barroom brawl. The only criticism can be the length of the album. At just short of an hour some of the tracks tend to get lost in a mid-album lull, with the constant buzzsawing seeming a little excessive. Yet this is only a minor fault as low key tracks Pull This Blanket Off and the brilliant Rich Kid Blues vary the tone, and with the organic energy of White and co. its impossible to be bored for long. Barefaced rock’n’roll, biting blues and swaggering country make a potent cocktail, but anyone looking for a record with a kick should pour themselves a bourbon and put this on the old gramophone.