The Raconteurs’s 11-year hiatus did not seem to hinder their creative ability as their third full length record “Help Us Stranger” is full of fun and fresh instrumentation and songwriting. Fronted by Jack White, The Raconteurs are somewhat of a supergroup. The three other members, guitarist and vocalist Brendan Benson, bassist Jack Lawerence and drummer Patrick Keeler, have all achieved commercial success in the music industry at one point or another. “Help Us Stranger” is a culmination of decades of songwriting and performing to produce a modern rock album that sounds so familiar, yet so new and inventive. The opening track, “Bored and Razed” bursts through sonically with yet another tasty guitar tone from Jack White. Although, by the time we get to the last track, “Thoughts and Prayers,” the band is more interested in a softer acoustic sound. The record travels, but The Raconteurs wrap it all together quite nicely.  

Rating: 7.5

Highlights: “Bored and Razed,” “Help Me Stranger,” “Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying)”