The Raconteurs

The second Raconteurs album, Consolers of the Lonely, is getting more pub for the way it was released — quickly, mere weeks after its completion, with little prep time for marketers or retail outlets — than for the music it contains. That's appropriate, though, since the best of the new...

By Michael Roberts

April 24, 2008

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The second Raconteurs album, Consolers of the Lonely, is getting more pub for the way it was released — quickly, mere weeks after its completion, with little prep time for marketers or retail outlets — than for the music it contains. That's appropriate, though, since the best of the new material conceived by Jack White, Brendan Benson and their pals is the most spontaneous. The players continue to draw upon well-worn rock, blues and country conventions in an overtly self-conscious manner that threatens to turn stifling on numbers such as "The Switch and the Spur," a comparatively ornate number marked by south-of-the-border brass, and "Rich Kid Blues," for which Robert Plant and Jimmy Page deserve songwriting credit. But the boys' ragged enthusiasm predominates on the title cut, the rollicking "Salute Your Solutions" and "Hold Up," a willfully dumb retro-nugget that's as much fun to hear as it probably was to make. That's the kind of speed the Raconteurs need.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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