The Raconteurs’ follow up to their fantastic debut, Broken Boy Soldiers, is the longer and more involved Consolers of the Lonely.  BBS was a very quick and furious collection of songs that definitely impressed, and The Raconteurs have retained the furious style for their newest record, but have put a little more into it, checking in 14 songs this time around, a much longer length, and seemingly a little more time and polish have gone into the final product.  Top to bottom this is an excellent record with each track being quite able to stand on its own, and when put together, the Raconteurs have assembled themselves another breathless, loud, catchy album full of thundering classic rock and blues rock hooks.  Hit the jump for the full review.

Consolers of the Lonely got off to a rather strange PR start when, out of the clear blue sky, the Raconteurs announced, a mere week after they revealed that a second album was coming out, that the new album was a finished product, being pressed, and coming out in all formats just a week later.  This is the same sort of tactic that Gnarls Barkley used on their album this year, presumably to combat digital pirating before the CD and vinyl copies came out, or, in their words, “The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by its first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.”  Whatever the reason, it was a surprise, but a pleasant one at that.

Whatever images this album evokes from the listener, be it classic arena rock or that of a roller coaster coming out of Michael Strahan’s mouth (on Fox’s NFL pregame commercials because they play Salute Your Solution during them – you know what I’m talking about if you’ve seen it), it’s undeniably solid music. 

I think it makes more sense to talk about this album in larger terms rather than breaking it down on a per-track basis, because the album feels very much like one whole.  The songs don’t generally last very long, and with some minor deviations such as You Don’t Understand Me, Pull This Blanket Off, and to some extent, Carolina Drama, the songs rock right out with big hooks and don’t really slow down to let you recover or catch your breath.  One interesting track which I would classify The Raconteurs’ shot at a more epic track would be Rich Kid Blues, with it’s changing movements and more epic feel, it is a bit beyond the rest of the record, but a very good song.

Overall, this record has a *ton* of BIG sounds.  The guitar licks blast you while the drum beats and broad arrangements back the guitar riffs.  On many songs there is a hefty blast of brass or other instruments to blow the track even higher (see: Many Shades of Black).  That said, all of it works rather well; it’s not noise for noise’s sake, but rather a band that seemingly believes that they are in the heyday of classic rock and come out of the gate firing with all weapons, and refusing to relent until the album concludes.  None of this should be new territory if you have Broken Boy Soldiers, and much of it is very much familiar ground.  The blues rock and classic rock riffs, the songs about relationships, and the powerful vocal harmonies are all something to behold, yet something familiar to fans of the band.

The Raconteurs – Salute Your Solution – Consolers Of The Lonely
The Raconteurs – Many Shades of Black – Consolers Of The Lonely

Daigle Rate: 85