The Raconteurs - 'Broken Boy Soldiers' (XL) Released 15/05/06

Supergroups are invariably a bad idea. Think of musical aberrations such as Bad Company, The Highwaymen or personal favourites The Power Station – who, for some powdery reason, thought combining the ‘talents’ of Robert Palmer, Duran Duran and Chic would be a good idea. Fortunately The Raconteurs have effortlessly escaped such ego-ridden pitfalls. Taking their musical cue from the decade when supergroups ruled the world – the Seventies – co-songwriters Brendan Benson and Jack White, backed by The Greenhornes’ rhythm section of Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler – have delivered a breezily accessible collection of extremely listenable songs.

Despite White’s style and profile eclipsing that of his collaborator, it is Benson’s power-pop sensibilities which set the tone of the majority of 'Broken Boy Soldiers'. The White Stripes singer is happy to take a back seat and contribute his typically guitar licks and backing vocals as Benson takes the lead on such songs as 'Hands' or the simple but effectively infectious 'Intimate Secretary'. White’s understated contributions particularly help the beautifully-pitched good, old-fashioned hippy tune 'Together' demand the accompaniment of a stunning summer’s sun set.

However, The Raconteurs really come alive as a concept when both Benson and White appear in tandem on 'Steady As She Goes' and 'Store Bought Bones'. The former - the first song the pair came up with together - was an obvious choice for debut single with its snappy, intertwining verses and big chorus. But Store Bought Bones, the single’s flip-side, is the real monster, with its joyously pummelling prog-rock organ refrain propelling the song to almost other-worldly heights. White does capture a little piece of the album for himself though, providing the two tracks which challenge Broken Boy Soldiers’ comfort zone. Closer 'Blue Veins' is a heart-felt blues number, reminiscent of Lennon’s 'Yer Blues', whilst the title track is apocalyptically angular, authentically evoking Led Zeppelin’s most menacing moments.

Literally screeching, White sings, “I'm child and man and child again/ The toy broken boy soldier/ The boy never gets older/ I’m done ripping myself off.” This is perhaps the clearest hint as to why a pressure-free project such as The Raconteurs seemed so attractive to White. It’s not clear whether this is a one off, or whether the band have a future together - but Broken Boy Soldiers is clear evidence The Raconteurs wouldn't be wasting anyone’s time by dropping the ‘super’ and simply becoming a ‘group’.