Consolers of the Lonely

Never one to back down from confrontation, Jack White showed a little forethought this month and tried something new: He and his fellow Raconteurs rush-released their new album, Consolers of the Lonely, allowing it to hit stores merely a week after its existence was announced. Great for fans, a little tricky for the media (print especially). But despite (or even because of) expediting the process, they've still effectively given the media its hook: Raconteurs flout the system, bend the (one would assume) will of their record company, and hurry their album's release, hacks like us be damned. The cynical might say this is a red flag and a marketing gimmick, comparable to the press being denied advance screening to an upcoming movie, but that's not the case here. It's not a challenging record, nor one with any otherwise presentable narrative around it; it's four accomplished musicians making a decent-to-great record.

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