The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
Rating
RIYL
The White StripesThe Greenhornes
The Black Keys
The Beatles
Tracklist
1. STEADY, AS SHE GOES2. HANDS
3. BROKEN BOY SOLDIER
4. INTIMATE SECRETARY
5. TOGETHER
6. LEVEL
7. STORE BOUGHT BONES
8. YELLOW SUN
9. CALL IT A DAY
10. BLUE VEINS
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Supergroups are dangerous. They tend to have a high failure rate, and the ones that do succeed often don’t last long, either due to an ego overload or simply because they suck. Others are just huge letdowns all together, i.e., Audioslave. Oh well. And sure, even I’ve been deceived by supergroups in the past: My first review on Decoy – a glorious one-year ago – was a favorable one for The Transplants (huh?).
Who knew the next big (successful) wave of supergroups would come from the underground. No, the best supergroups are not Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, or Angels and Airwaves, but instead have proven to be indie-rockers, like The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene. While collaborations and track-by-track features are always prominent, like last year’s sensational Superwolf by Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Matt Sweeney. However, the latest and probably most notable indie-rock supergroup is the Raconteurs, which features Jack White of the prominent White Stripes, multitalented solo musician Brendan Benson, and Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence of the Greenhornes.
All like-minded musicians with similar styles, the Raconteurs sound pretty much how you’d expect them to – garage rock, blues, and Americana. While Jack White is undoubtedly the most well known musician of the quartet, it is the first time he has played with a full band, and his influence is not more domineering than any of the other members. In fact, the full band only makes him sound better.
Originally formed by Benson and White between their own projects as nothing more than recording a couple fun songs, the duo later realized they had something they wanted to continue with, later recruiting Keeler and Lawrence. The Raconteurs final product, Broken Boy Soliders is what rock n’ roll is all about.
Kicking the album off is the lead single “Steady As She Goes,” is undoubtedly one of the catchiest rock songs all year, with simple verses like “Find yourself a girl and settle down/Live a simple life in a quiet town,” and a triumphant chorus. The song’s simplicity is its most powerful asset, and other tracks on Broken Boy Soldiers follow similar suit, like “Hands,” “Broken Boy Solider,” and “Level.” However, none of the tracks live up to “Steady As She Goes,” which leaves the album sounding falsely stale. By falsely stale, I simply mean, the album sounds weak after “Steady As She Goes,” but it’s just because “Steady” is so freaking sweet.
With White handing the primary vocal duties, he has never sounded better with a full supporting band; it’s refreshing to hear White supported by a talented, versatile drummer – no offense Meg. However, Benson does do his fair share of vocals and displays his soft melody on “Together” and “Yellow Sun.”
You’d be surprised to know that these musicians have never performed together before the release of Broken Boy Soldiers. The musicianship is tight, and the foursome sounds as though they have been playing together for a lot longer than just a single album. This supergroup, thankfully, didn’t flop, and even if Broken Boy Soldiers is the only album the Raconteurs make, it’s a justifiably first-rate one.
If you’re still searching for a windows-down-drive-to-the-beach, charming summer rock n’ roll album, then Broken Boy Soldiers is a solid bet.
--Kamran Rouzpay
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