Broken Boy Soldier, the debut album of the 70s-inspired garage rock group, The Raconteurs, was released on May 16 with high listener expectations for the side project of Jack White. White, of the White Stripes, heads The Raconteurs, alongside Brendan Benson, of Motor City. The lesser-known Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence take up the jobs of drummer and bassist.
The album opens up with “Steady As She Goes,” containing an infectious, classic White Stripes-infused bass line that floods over your eardrums and travels down your spine to start your toes tapping – which they will continue to do for the next half hour. This album is simply addicting, though a stretch for classic White Stripes fans, who are used to the predictable drumming of Meg White, as opposed to the fierce rhythm section of the Greenhornes’ Keeler and Lawrence. While White and Benson have equally unique vocal presences as far as previous albums are concerned, the two fuse perfectly on this album.
“Steady As She Goes” is the well-deserving first single off the 10-track album, and eases across the radio-ready finish line without breaking a sweat. Its slow classic soul/ R&B backbone makes it a unique song on the album, which slowly turns more rock and roll as the album progresses.
The catchy “Hands” is next. Midway through, White’s croons of “Girl, you’ve got those hands” is replaced by a chorus of “whoo hoos,” followed by a clashing symbol crescendo, and finished up with muted vocals and intense drumming.
The album’s third track, “Broken Boy Soldier,” is when The Raconteurs settle into what they’re doing and get comfortable. “Broken Boy Soldier” has White up front, delivering not-so-subtle, emotionally intense lyrics: “I’m throwing the child seat away/I’m through ripping myself off/I’m done ripping myself off/ I’m child and man and child again/A toy broken boy soldier.”
The track comes to an end with White repeating, “The boy never gets older,” and with this gem of a track hidden almost midway through the album, listeners hope he never does too.
“Intimate Secretary” is full of heavy rock guitar riffs and the occasional touch of White’s synthesizer, and is a representational Raconteurs rock track that keeps the volume of Broken Boy Soldier turned up.
The Beatles – influenced “Together” is a nice rest on the album, a quietly recorded song with melodies of fairy tales, lessons learned and sunsets. It’s a love song, and White echoes Benson throughout, taking listeners back to the 60s.
This ballad is replaced as quickly as it was introduced when the fast drumming and guitar riffs return in the sixth track, “Level,” which features a White guitar solo halfway through the song.
“Store Bought Bones” is the seventh and heaviest rock song on the album, and one of the most lyrically interesting, featuring screams of “you can’t buy what you can’t fix,” leading listeners to wonder what White and Benson need to fix.
A drum solo leads the way for “Yellow Sun,” another Beatles-esque track that peruses through the acoustic meanderings of Benson-dominated lyrics.
The ninth track, “Call It A Day,” features a slow rhythm section that lets listeners sit back and enjoy the slow-lyrical pacing and simplicity of Benson, while being forced to appreciate the talent of Keeler and Lawrence.
“Blue Veins,” the bluesy tenth and final track on the album, is a synthesized, electronic treasure, with slow heavy bass lines that roll like thunder to the sound of rain behind White’s seductive vocals. It is the perfect finishing track for the album.
With its superpower members, The Raconteurs have endless potential, but while great, their debut album falls somewhat flat of the creative possibilities of White and Benson. The album was a chance to stretch White’s bluesy-pop legs, but it rests on the safe side. It’s excellent, but not irreplaceable. Safety isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and Broken Boy Soldier is an enjoyable addiction. The concise, 31 minute album is a quick trip to rock heaven and back, and is definitely worth a listen.
