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spotlight! 'Broken' blues
By Cassie Hood
hood@mscd.edu

The Raconteurs Broken Boy Soldiers (Third Man Records, 2006)

The playwright Eugene O’Neill once said, “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.” Upon discovering The Raconteurs, formed by the mischievous and deranged Jack White of The White Stripes, curiosity not only killed my metaphorical cat—it buried it in the backyard. However, after listening to the band’s new album, Broken Boy Soldiers, satisfaction infused it with a vitality it lacked in its previous life.

The band calls itself a “new band made up of old friends,” and was formed in a musky attic when White and power pop artist Brendan Benson got together and started writing. Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, from The Greenhornes, a bluesy R&B band, joined later. Overall, the quartet sounds like a blues revival band, fraught with trippy ‘70s pop elements.

Broken Boy Soldiers, the first full-length release from The Raconteurs, takes a ride through the ‘60s and ‘70s, then rockets into the late ‘90s post-grunge era. Each song features something different and gives the album its many surprises. “Steady As She Goes” is not only the inspiration for the band, but is also its first single. The song mixes a heavy bass riff with whammy-pedal enhanced guitars, and White’s high-pitched, nasal, boy band-inspired vocals are offset by the deep, low voice of Benson. Keeler’s drums are uptempo, fun and forceful, adding to the pop feel.

“Blue Veins” slows the tempo to a heart-wrenching, bluesy crawl. Whiny, shrill vocals sorrowfully reassure a woman of love and trust in a relationship. At one point the lyrics are played backward, giving the song an eerie edge. Keeler’s and Lawrence’s simple drums and bass fit the overall tone without overshadowing the piano playing lightly in the background. Benson’s deep and muted hums add to the spooky feel.

Broken Boy Soldiers allows the band to show off their ability to skip from genre to genre. It defies labels because it can’t be classified by any specific sound. “Call It a Day” stands out as the only definably grungy song on the album. Benson’s dark vocals overpower the muffled guitar and drums that gently pull the song along until the very end, when in one moment of intensity and pain, everything meets, causing a final statement of distaste for love.

“Store Bought Bones” has psychedelic, mellow vocals fused with powerful, wailing guitars. Keeler’s drums give the song a bluesy, ‘60s pop rock sound, and Lawrence’s bass adds to the ambience and occasionally breaks through the eager guitars in moments of smooth calmness. The track is danceable and hard to forget.

After years of reading about White’s silly antics, sheer curiosity makes Broken Boy Soldiers intriguing. The Raconteurs have created an album that notoriety will sell, but talent will propagate.