Music Review: The Raconeurs Broken Boy Soldiers

Lauded as "Jack White's other (insert 'better') band," stands poised to take the title of rock supergroup of the year. Who they're taking it from is another less interesting story.

Jack White (of the White Stripes) teams up with fellow Detroit native Brendan Benson for this collaborative effort which also features rhythm being provided by members of the Greenhornes, their personalities and names inconsequential. All we are concerned with is the genius of Jack White and the melodic wanderings of Mr. Benson.

I speak tongue-in-cheek, of course. Reading reviews over the last few months about this anticipated release has allowed music critics to let it slip that they would've always much preferred the White Stripes had it actually had a better drummer and a bass line. Shame on you all.

But we are here to discuss the Rac Pack...

Benson and White take a total 50/50 credit on the writing of these songs. Listening through the whole album, each of their hands is very clear. Knowing Benson's Alternative to Love and virtually all of Jack White's output, it is fairly apparent when one songwriter takes the helm from the other. Their styles are vastly different, but do work together to create a genuinely unique and unusual sound. Some of the songs harken back to an older generation, such as Store Bought Bones which recalls early psychadelia, or the closing track Blue Veins which is straight-foward blues.
The majority of these tracks, however, are truly a hybrid style of White's growling guitar riffs and howling vocals and Benson's melodic turns. Add to it the solid but never over-powering backbone from the Nameless Ones, and you have a collection of songs that really doesn't sound like anything else on the shelves right now.
On the track Broken Boy Soldiers, Jack White shows why he is still one of the best blues rock singers going at it right now. But this time, enough vocal damage has occured so that White sounds more like an old woman than a 31 year old man.
On the track Yellow Sun, Benson's ability to create a captivating melodic/chordal combination plays out nicely in a chorus that catches the ear every time.
Oddly enough, only three of the tracks on this disc start without any sort of weird ambient lead-in or studio noise. What's the deal? Also, the art design for the CD case is decidedly disappointing. The photograph on the front cover looks as though the band took a cheap polaroid photograph of themselves in poorly done makeup, with no attempt made to clean up the photograph, sharpen the image or to deify them in any way. The disc itself as well as a border around the photograph features a great deal of golden script filagrie which seems to have no pattern. In short, it's confusing to the eye and I found it more of a distraction. Often times I'm able to tell what sort of design influence a package has had, but with this album, I am confused. There seemed to be little thought put into the look of the bands image. Even looking at the band's publicity stills I get the sense of four men standing in frame together, but there isn't a cohesive sense of uniformity between the bandmates. If the band's intent is to remain a coalition of individuals, that is fine, but at least shoot the photographs in black and white so we don't have to enjoy your clashing choices of clothing.

The Grade: Music: B+ (Because of a few weak tracks)
Art Design: D

The T. has spoken.