Broken Boy Soldiers

iTunes Review

The Raconteurs are a collaboration between the White Stripes’ Jack White and pop songwriter Brendan Benson, with the Greenhornes’ rhythm section keeping things together on the backend. Though it’s fair to call them a ‘side project’ (the album was recorded at Benson’s studio whenever time came free) or even a ‘Supergroup,’ the resulting album is anything but an easily dismissed toss-off — though much of its charm rests in its unfussy naturalness. Credit Jack White’s voluminous knowledge and affection for rock history and Benson’s penchant for the touchstones of pop craft, but Broken Boy Soldiers is an exciting modern update of four decades worth of rock music. Most amazingly, the songwriting for this project is predominately first-rate. Whether it’s the sublime psychedelia of “Intimate Secretary,” the punk rock meets Led Zeppelin screech of the title track, or the early ‘70s electric piano AM radio ballad “Together,” the Raconteurs deliver each style with as much love, conviction and sense of identity as any “real” band.