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Boston Globe

Not content to merely shake up the music industry by releasing Consolers with only one week's advance notice, the Raconteurs have also had the nerve to drop a near-classic album.

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Entertainment Weekly

The result is neither refined nor especially modern, but it still evokes the thrill of playing hooky on a Friday afternoon.

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New Musical Express

A notable progression from the foursome, and plenty of huge riffs to enjoy at the summer festivals.

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Paste Magazine

while one can easily imagine smoke machines spurting during many of the album's 13 other tracks, there is no irony in the mix. Just fun.

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The New York Times

The Raconteurs are singing, more often than not, about desperate characters. But that desperation only makes the crunch of the music more euphoric.

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musicOMH.com

White's second fling with The Raconteurs is quite the party, and perhaps one that may leave Meg a bit jealous.

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The Guardian

The Raconteurs establish a firm, emotionally charged identity of their own when White finally takes a back seat to Brendan Benson.

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All Music Guide

"Broken Boy Soldiers" lacked tunes like these, tunes with considerable weight, and these songs turn Consolers of the Lonely into a lop-sided, bottom-loaded album that's better and richer than their debut.

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Slant Magazine

Consolers of the Lonely, despite its surprise entrance, is predictably pleasing, a fine collection of shit-kicking rock n' roll just varied and experimental enough to sound original and unbored.

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Blender

The introductory kiddie voice and opening guitar scrape establish this second album as White's show; mariachi-style brass fanfare, Appalachian-hoedown fiddling and plenty of Roman-candle solos soon follow. [June 2008, p.76]

Uncut

Twice as long as the band's debut, it's also more than doubly assured. [June 2008, p.99]

Observer Music Monthly

Consolers of the Lonely is heftier than its predecessor, both in its Led Zep-go-garage wig-outs and in its cosmic balladeering.

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Austin Chronicle

There are blunders ("Attention," "You Don't Understand Me"), but Lonely consoles with the strongest and most diverse album from any of these raconteurs in years.

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Pitchfork

Whether it was intended or not, White's personality sometimes overwhelms, and makes Consolers sound like a little sibling to Icky Thump--a little less unique, certainly, but another loose, comfortable affirmation of what they do well.

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Lost At Sea

With plenty of talent, the Raconteurs have a unique sound; they only need to spend more time trimming it down.

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Rolling Stone

Overall, Consolers feels less like a project and more like a jam session. But it's fun to watch White make things up as he goes along.

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Hot Press

Jack White’s bit on the side return with an accomplished and musically diverse second album.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Sometimes The Raconteurs' competence and professionalism get in the way of their fieriness, particularly in moments that sound like a White Stripes album given a coat of '70s AOR polish.

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Prefix Magazine

With Consolers of the Lonely, the Raconteurs are still content to play record-collection plunderers, but instead of ripping what they can from the '60s, they spend much of the album as twenty-first-century stand-ins for Grand Funk Railroad, Blue Oyster Cult and Three Dog Night, playing big, limp, calculated rock 'n’ roll.

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PopMatters

Consolers is a labored album, the product of much studio tinkering and a desperate need for the band to prove themselves as a “serious” outfit.

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Dot Music

Great fun to record, no doubt, and probably great live, but an annoying conceit on record.

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Spin

But too often, the Raconteurs' love of twisty, monolithic rock gives way to bombast that teeters between homage and parody.

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Under The Radar

Most of the album is in second person, and it’s another way that Consolers of the Lonely isolates the audience. The lonely are far from consoled; they’re made to feel uninvited to a fantastic party. [Summer 2008]

Drowned In Sound

Consolers of the Lonely is often grotesquely overblown despite moments of genuine excitement.

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cokemachineglow

What keeps Consolers of the Lonely from being an outright shit affair is, predictably, the assembled chops of its musicians, a group never so much fussy as amicable, wide-eyed about the righteous licks and insensitive tempo shifts they solder together so tightly.

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NOW Magazine

It’s a much more musically diverse album than the Raconteurs have done before, but there are many more misses than hits among these 14 tracks.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 83 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Wes M. gave it a9:
While I liked BBS quite a bit, this second album is much better and holds up well to repeated listens.

Michteff S. gave it a10:
So much better than Broken Boy Soldiers, it's not even funny. Carolina Drama, Many Shades of Black, The Switch and the Spur are my favorite songs, but the whole album is great.

Jacob S. gave it an8:
I feel like it was a rush-job and Jack was feeling kind of edgy and got his "angst" out through this album, whereas broken boy soldiers felt a little more passionate. Don't get me wrong, its a totally bitchin, rock your balls off album, but some songs sound a little JET (you know, COLD HARD BITCH). thats why it gets a 7 in my book.

Shane M. gave it a9:
Top 5 of the year so far. Any reviewer that doesn't see it is only still hung up on comparing everything Jack White does to Elephant.

Brooke A gave it a9:
This album is amazing.... let's just get that straight. And if you liked Broken Boy Soldiers better, then you never really understood that the Raconteurs were going in THIS direction all along. My dears, listen to White Stripes (And by that I mean, all albums, not just Icky and Elephant) and the Greenhornes. How crazy is it that a certain well known ROCK magazine gave BBS a 4.0 and COTL a 3.5????? Ah well.... actually I prefer when GREAT music is not understood by the public.... bec then I don't hear it blaring out from soccer mom's cars and all you who wouldn't understand amazing music unless someone tells you it is amazing.

Tom H. gave it an8:
Almost as good as Elephant, but hands-down better than Broken Boy Soldiers.

Geoff L. gave it a10:
Great album through and through. No song is the same but all are catchy and creative. Jack White's diversity is continually impressive.

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Consolers Of The Lonely

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