The Raconteurs' Broken Boy Soldier

I don't think the album's bad, but I doubt if I'll remember to listen to it beyond two weeks from now. Jack White's guitar playing is the highlight for me. I think the Wolfmother album's a little more fun to listen to (if you recognize it as an Australian version of the Darkness). Here's my quick review....

I find “Steady, as She Goes” really annoying. Do you? My friend Tony thinks the bass line is directly lifted from Joe Jackson. “Hands” splits the difference between Jack White and Brendan Benson's styles (thereby canceling each other out). “Broken Boy Soldier” has Jack White singing in a crazy voice, but it’s not bad. I like “Intimate Secretary” because it rocks nicely. “Together” is very mellow and Benson’s voice almost sounds like Sean Lennon’s. “Level” is Jack White being funky and I’m not really convinced. “Store Bought Bones” is upbeat and one of the best songs (nice guitar jam). “Yellow Sun” sounds like Sean Lennon mixed with Matthew Sweet. That’s not entirely bad, but I could also just listen to Sean Lennon and/or Matthew Sweet. “Call It a Day” is a mellow Benson track with some nice White guitar and heavily processed backing vocals. “Blue Veins” is a standard blues-rock song that’s been done to death by the Stones and Led Zeppelin.

Overall, most of the songs just remind me of something else. You should at least download two songs: "Intimate Secretary" and "Store Bought Bones." You can hear the latter on the band's website. On a side note, the website's pretty cool.