Help Us Stranger - The Raconteurs: Review
The Raconteurs
are a Detroit rock band and side project of former White Stripes frontman and multi-instrumentalist Jack White. The band formed in the mid 2000's and dropped two moderately well received albums that included hits like Steady As She Goes and Carolina Drama and went on hiatus as Jack White focused on solo albums and his other side project The Dead Weather. The group announced their reuniting last year and have maintained a very active social media prescence as well as dropping numerous singles throughout the lead-up to the release of this new record.
Review By Lavender:
The two previous Raconteurs albums have been some of the most mainstream and easily digestible releases of Jack White's career so far. They have his knack for songwriting fit into the mold of contemporary radio rock and this made them very catchy and well done but puts a cap on how much they can really achieve. I had a feeling based on some of the singles that the band would stay true to form and just as I suspected Help Us Stranger is a perfect third release for a trilogy of albums that wont blow you away but will deliver comfortable and catchy rock music with excellent consistency.
The first of the five singles released came in the split of Sunday Driver and Now That You're Gone. Sunday Driver is a classic Raconteurs track with some blistering and intricate guitar work from Jack White around a jammy base instrumental. The lyrics take a vague if not a touch cheeky approach and all put together this is exactly the kind of song the band has proved they can make time and time again. I wasn't as big of a fan of Now That You're Gone a slower track that serves as a by the numbers love song. The refrain reminds me a lot of the song Why Does A Dog? from Jack White's last solo album but the steady guitar that drives the track and some of its catchier moments are bearable enough to make it worth the time it takes on the record.
The third single Hey Gyp has grown on me since I first heard it. The lyrics I first dismissed as underwritten and kind of stupid seem much funnier and more fitting to me than they used to and a lot of the little things Jack does on guitar as well as some of the extra instrumentation has helped my opinion of this track improve. Finally they ended the run of singles off with two excellent releases. Help Me Stranger is a slow burner with some jungle percussion that is full of catchy refrains one after another and has a hook that is impossible to forget once you've heard it. It is a pretty typical track for the group but hearing the effective harmonizing and solid songwriting doesn't get old on this song. The final single was the opening track Bored And Razed which I am more impressed with every time I hear it. The hook is fantastic and while it isn't the most complicated guitar work or instrumental on the whole album both are very effective. Jack drops some of his best lyrics in this tracks second verse and during its bridge and it serves as an excellent opening song for this record.
The rest of the record isn't perfect, not will it stop you in your tracks, but it pretty consistently executes its formula. Don't Bother Me reminds me of a White Stripes song and features some kooky and speedy supporting vocals over angular guitars that drive the track and the song just comes off as funny with a self-awareness to it. Shine A Light On Me and the closing track Thoughts And Prayers are both slower ballad type songs that could use a little bit more luster. While both have great dramatic vocal performances from Jack White I am not really floored by either of them and they just seem like loose detours to break up jammier tracks. Only Child is the final track I had any issues with just because it takes the slower approach but doesn't really provide much of anything worthwhile and is one of the only tracks that is too generic and uninspired to be enjoyed.
The final handful of tracks aren't the best but are all pretty good tunes in their own right. Somedays is a classic rock inspired rager with personal lyrics and some great instrumentation all centered around Jack White's chorus. Livin A Lie is a similar type of song but with unhealthy relationships at its center. And finally What's Yours Is Mine has some cocky and confrontational lyrics from Jack that are delivered perfectly and match really well with the driving guitar riffs laced throughout it.
The rest of the record isn't perfect, not will it stop you in your tracks, but it pretty consistently executes its formula. Don't Bother Me reminds me of a White Stripes song and features some kooky and speedy supporting vocals over angular guitars that drive the track and the song just comes off as funny with a self-awareness to it. Shine A Light On Me and the closing track Thoughts And Prayers are both slower ballad type songs that could use a little bit more luster. While both have great dramatic vocal performances from Jack White I am not really floored by either of them and they just seem like loose detours to break up jammier tracks. Only Child is the final track I had any issues with just because it takes the slower approach but doesn't really provide much of anything worthwhile and is one of the only tracks that is too generic and uninspired to be enjoyed.
The final handful of tracks aren't the best but are all pretty good tunes in their own right. Somedays is a classic rock inspired rager with personal lyrics and some great instrumentation all centered around Jack White's chorus. Livin A Lie is a similar type of song but with unhealthy relationships at its center. And finally What's Yours Is Mine has some cocky and confrontational lyrics from Jack that are delivered perfectly and match really well with the driving guitar riffs laced throughout it.
Help Us Stranger contains nothing that you haven't heard before, or in all likelihood many times before, but that doesn't stop it from executing this style with a breathe of fresh air and consistently sharp songwriting and performances. It is hard to say that what they've done here has eclipsed the accomplishments of their prior two records but it dos at least reach the standard they set, and complete a trilogy of releases that hold The Raconteurs in solid company among radio rock bands. 7/10
