Consolers Of The Lonely

"I've had enough of these modern times," the Raconteurs holler on the manic 'Hold Up', as if we needed reminding. The band's main man, Jack White, has spent his career worshiping at the chapel of late '60s blues and garage rock — recording the White Stripes' first albums on vintage equipment; covering songs like Robert Johnson's 'Stop Breaking Down' — but this side project blasts open the church doors to let in other faiths.

Which means that, alongside White familiars like the jagged title track and chaotic 'Salute Your Solution', the Raconteurs' second album embraces spaghetti western soundtracks (mariachi tune 'The Switch And The Spur'), epic Bob Dylan storytelling (gothic murder tale 'Carolina Dreams'), rockabilly (fiddle workout 'Old Enough'), bluesy Led Zeppelin (listen to that slide guitar on 'Top Yourself', rich blue-eyed soul (brassy 'Many Shades of Black'), 'Exile' era Stones (cover version 'Rich Kid Blues'), folky Led Zeppelin (listen to that acoustic guitar on 'These Stones Will Shout'), and Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson (the beautiful vocal harmonies of 'You Don’t Understand Me').

But no matter what style they follow, or even who steps up behind the mic, all the songs bear White's signatures: the yelped vocals, the crunchy guitar riffs, the sense that everything could fall apart at any second. Forget what co-frontman/-singer/-songwriter/-guitarist Brendan Benson and those two guys from the rhythm section believe, this is now clearly a one-man band.

As a result 'Consolers of the Lonely' is certainly more cohesive than their debut which swung between the distinct styles of Benson and a more reticent White. But, apart from the superior musicianship, it's also nearly indistinguishable from the Stripes' recent jumble sale, 'Icky Thump'. Unless the other Raconteurs rush the pulpit, that church is going to get a little crowded.