AWmusic

This is basically how they did it: they finished the album, 2 weeks (or 1 week) they decided to release the album. No time for promotion. I’m assuming because they didn’t want the album to leak (which was inevitable anyway). Anyway bloggers ate up the big news during that time by promoting various “leaked” mp3s throughout the internet. They were big news at the time. However, they decided to send out the good old Web Sheriff around and even shutting down a few blogger websites (at least just deleting all their mp3s and such). You know what drives me nuts about that business plan. You refuse to market an album so people as individuals did the work by virally marketing the album to the internet (albeit offering an mp3 to boot) and how do they repay these viral marketers? By shutting down their websites. Once the album was reviewed, the Raconteurs were old news and who would want to post an mp3 when they were being visited by the grim reaper? Whatever I don’t own a major label but I’m also not losing millions like they are .

I was not a big fan of Broken Boy Soldiers even though Steady As She Goes was an awesome track. I ended up rarely listening to the album. Still, being a White Stripes fan it almost makes it a must to check out this side project.

The album starts off with the title track with random background chatter and a dirty intro. Almost reminiscent of a glam-metal style riff, this track actually sucks. Lyrics and vocals are not good at all. Funny how the lyrics “I’m bored to tears” are used, it could never be so true. The song is loud and “There’s a constant ringing in my ear…and I’m bored to tears”. This song tries too hard to be cool in my opinion with it’s loud drumming and metal style guitaring but it fails to work on the details. They really egged me on with the lyrics as well.

I’m in only one song in and I want to discard the rest of the album. I don’t want to bring any White Stripes comparisons but it doesn’t compare at all. In most cases of this album, I feel like it’s trying to appeal to the masses by being some more then what they are. Contradictory to the title nonetheless.

Their best moments for the Raconteurs is when they sound like they are more like The White Stripes like with the track Pull This Blanket Off. It’s more a pop song and it’s simplistic with just a piano playing with the occasional guitar riff. Stripped down they do sound like the Stripes v. 2.0 but that’s better then whatever they’re offering as trying to make their own sound. It sounds like a mess.

Add that they aren’t deserving of a good score anyway with how their record label sucks.

Rating: 1.25 out of 5
Face it, I’m just not that much of Jack White nuthugger to endorse this album. Tiny Mix Tapes quoted on Broken Boy Soldiers:

If The Raconteurs were any other group (that is, if The Raconteurs didn’t have Jack White), the press/Blogosphere would slam it.

That statement stills rings true.

Steady As She Goes by The Raconteurs

Pull This Blanket Off by The Raconteurs