Star

July 5th 2006 by E..

One of the things that I used to do in various outlets was write album reviews…I used to to it for DoRK, I wrote a few for Chronicle, I did reviews in my History of Jazz class, and I even took a full review writing class…While I did write about other things, my favorite thing to write about (of course) was music…So I guess that I have nothing left to do than get this habit started again…I know, I hardly ever update themainfizz, so why on Earth would I want to start a similar thing here?…How should I know?…what I do know is that reviews are a good way for me express my opinions on current music in an organized way…maybe I’ll even do a countdown sort of thing later on…Who knows?…with all that said, I will begin my reviewing with what has quickly become my favorite album of 2006 so far…

The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
V2 Records

I usually don’t have much to say about The White Stripes.  They happen to be the one current rock band that the I want to like, but just can’t.  Jack White is a very creative musician, definitely akin to Joe Strummer or even Lou Reed in his songriting and musicianship.  However, for every “My Doorbell”, there are a dozen “Blue Orchids”, and that’s just not for me.  I love a garage-blues band as much as the next guy, but the noise that Jack and Meg create often finds me finding something else to listen to.  When I first heard “Steady, As She Goes”, the first single released by Jack White’s new band (he refuses to refer to The Raconteurs as a ’side-project’, because he plans to concentrate on it just as much as The White Stripes), it really was music to my ears.  Catchy, heavy, but not unlistenable.  Just enough to crank up really loud without scaring away all of your relatives.  Broken Boy Soldiers is quite unique in that each song is carried out in various styles, yet it remains distinctively Raconteurs.  “Together” is just as sweet as “Hands” and “Level” are badass.  Jack White teamed up with some of his friends from Detroit, such as Brandon Benson and the rhythm section from The Greenhornes to create this sound that is equally as reminicient of The Stooges as it is of Led Zeppelin.  To say that there is not a single bad song on the album would be neat, but taking into consideration that there are only 10 songs on the record kind of makes that a downer.  The only negative thing that I have to say is that, just like all other bands these days with a terrific breakout album (I’m looking at you, Franz Ferdinand and The Secret Machines), The Raconteurs will doubtfully produce a sophmore album that is as good, without being simply more of the same.  I’m hoping that by this time next year, I will have been proven very, very wrong.

4 1/2 out of 5 (for not coming out soon enough)
E.

Lyric of the Time:
Conquering myself until I see another hurdle approaching
Say we can, say we will, not just another drop in the ocean

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »