The Raconteurs

Broken Boy Soldiers (XL ’06) Rating: B+
This album is getting a lot of press because of the involvement of Jack White, who along with Brendan Benson are the main guys in this worthwhile if hardly revelatory side project. Both write, sing, and play guitar almost equally, which isn’t necessarily a good thing as quite frankly White is the far more interesting and charismatic character. Benson ain’t half bad, either, though, just a bit anonymous, as this album definitely lacks some of the gritty energy and swagger of The White Stripes at their best. Then again, that’s partially because of the focus of the album; this is a pop album more than a hard rocking ROCK album, and the songwriting craft is impressive overall, with 10 strong songs coming and going in barely over a half hour (is it possible that this album is actually too short?). The problem is that there’s only one great song, “Broken Boy Soldier,” an exotic, atmospheric hard rocker which sees White in full on Zep mode. Elsewhere, “Steady, As She Goes” delivers catchy, new wavey glam pop, “Hands” and “Call It A Day” seem like a not-as-strange-as-it-sounds mix of The White Stripes and The New Pornographers, “Together” is a low-key love song that wouldn’t sound out-of-place on Josh Rouse’s out-of-time 1972 album, and “Yellow Sun” delivers bright Beatles-esque pop. The riff-heavy “Level” and the bluesy” Blue Veins” are the album’s most psychedelic tracks, both being brief but effective, while “Intimate Secretary” and “Store Bought Bones” also have Zep-like attributes. All in all, I rather enjoy and appreciate these guys’ (the rhythm section is from the Greenhornes, whoever they are) throwback sound, even if I don’t love it. Perhaps the album is more consistent than your typical White Stripes album, but it isn’t nearly as exciting or as distinctive, as White takes too much of a subservient role and the album comes and goes all too quickly, though its easy enough to enjoy while it sticks around.

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