THE RACONTEURS TO DROP NEW ALBUM, VIDEO NEXT WEEK

By Daryl Sanders
March 18, 2008

In recording industry time, The Raconteurs are moving at warp speed.

According to a press notice sent to media outlets and posted on the band’s official website and MySpace site yesterday, The Raconteurs’ sophomore album, Consolers of the Lonely, will be released on March 25, less than a month after the Nashville-based band wrapped up the mixing and sequencing of the record. It is the follow-up to their 2006 debut, Broken Boy Soldiers.

Mastering for the record, which contains 14 new recordings by Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence, and Patrick Keeler, was only completed the first week of March.

According to the notice, fans can purchase the album, which will be released through White’s Third Man Records in conjunction with XL Recordings and Warner Brothers Records, in all formats — “full-length vinyl, CD and digital formats.”

By handling the release in this fashion — without the usual press and radio build-up, The Raconteurs wanted “to get the album to the fans as soon as possible” and hoped to avoid having the album “defined by its first week sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it” before the fans get to hear it. “We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the exact same time so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding its availability, reception, or perception.” Also, they expressed their desire for Consolers of the Lonely to be heard in its entirety. “The Raconteurs feel very strongly that music has worth and should be treated as such,” the announcement stated.

In addition, the group revealed that a video for the first single, “Salute Your Solution,” will be posted online on March 25, as well, provided editing is completed by then. “We just filmed it the other day.”