Recording in a proper studio this time, with more considered arrangements, the band have carved out a much more distinctive character here, sustained across a range of styles including the Who-style hard-rock attack of " Hold Up", the horn-swathed blues of "Many Shades of Black", the mariachi desert tableau of "The Switch and the Spur", the mandolin-tinted murder melodrama of "Carolina Drama", and the sprightly bluegrass-rocker "Old Enough", a brusque dismissal of some teenage know-it-all.

The startling high-register guitar breaks that Jack White laced through Icky Thump, with that zillion-volt crackle, also feature on several tracks and, despite the album's lyrical mood of betrayal, break-up and put-down, they're rather more indicative of its restless musical essence.

Watch The Raconteurs video for 'Salute Your Solution' from their album 'Consolers of the Lonely'

Pick of the album: 'Carolina Drama', 'Consoler of the Lonely', 'Old Enough'