Help Us Stranger

Help Us Stranger is the third studio album by American rock band The Raconteurs. It was released on June 21, 2019, through Third Man Records, their first studio album in 11 years following Consolers of the Lonely (2008). The album was recorded at Third Man Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, and mixed at Blackbird Studio in Nashville. It was produced by the band, engineered by Joshua V. Smith, and mixed by Vance Powell.^[3]

Help Us Stranger
Studio album by The Raconteurs
Released	June 21, 2019 (2019-06-21)
Recorded	June 2018 – January 2019
Studio	Third Man, Nashville
Genre	Blues rock[1] garage rock[2]
Length	41:14
Label	Third Man
Producer	The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs chronology
Consolers of the Lonely (2008) Help Us Stranger (2019)
Singles from Help Us Stranger
"Sunday Driver" / "Now That You're Gone" Released: December 19, 2018 "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)" Released: April 10, 2019 "Help Me Stranger" Released: May 17, 2019 "Bored and Razed" Released: June 10, 2019 "Somedays (I Don't Feel Like Trying)" Released: September 7, 2019

Promotion and release

On the tenth anniversary of the band's second studio album, Consolers of the Lonely released in 2008, Third Man announced a re-issue of the album, along with two previously unreleased songs, "Sunday Driver" and "Now That You're Gone" were released as double A-side singles.^[4] Both songs received videos, which were shot a week before the release.^[5] On April 2, 2019, the album artwork, along with its track listing and release date were announced. On April 10, "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)", a cover of the Donovan song, premiered on Bandcamp.^[6] Two days later, it was also made available on other platforms. On September 5, 2019, the band performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and performed the single "Only Child", as well as "Shine the Light on Me".^[7][8]

A limited edition LP release with lenticular cover art was sent out to Third Man Vault subscribers. This edition features a parodic photoshop of the original "butcher" cover for the Beatles' 1966 studio album Yesterday and Today, in which the Raconteurs' heads are pasted atop John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr; the artwork is hidden beneath the lenticular print, mirroring Capitol Records' method of censoring the "butcher" cover, thus requiring buyers to peel it off in order to reveal the image.^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10[10]
Metacritic	81/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Chicago Tribune	[13]
Consequence of Sound	B[14]
DIY	[15]
Exclaim!	8/10[16]
The Guardian	[17]
NME	[1]
Pitchfork	6.4/10[18]
Rolling Stone	[19]
Slant Magazine	[20]

Help Us Stranger received favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 24 reviews.^[11] Loudwire named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019.^[21]

Commercial performance

Help Us Stranger debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 88,000 album-equivalent units, of which 84,000 were pure album sales. It was The Raconteurs' first US number-one album.^[22] It has also charted in the top ten in Canada, UK, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders region).

Track listing

Help Us Stranger track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bored and Razed"	3:35
2.	"Help Me Stranger"	3:36
3.	"Only Child"	3:41
4.	"Don't Bother Me"	2:53
5.	"Shine the Light On Me"	3:28
6.	"Somedays (I Don't Feel Like Trying)"	4:06
7.	"Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)" (Donovan cover)	2:25
8.	"Sunday Driver"	3:38
9.	"Now That You're Gone"	4:01
10.	"Live a Lie"	2:20
11.	"What's Yours Is Mine"	2:49
12.	"Thoughts and Prayers"	4:42
Total length:		41:14

All tracks are written by Brendan Benson and Jack White, except "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)" written by Donovan Leitch.

Third Man Records Vault edition bonus 7"

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Help Me Stranger" (demo)
2.	"Somedays (I Don't Feel Like Trying)" (demo)

Personnel

Personnel adapted from album notes.^[23]

The Raconteurs Jack White – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, production Brendan Benson – vocals, guitar, percussion, harmonica, production Jack Lawrence – bass guitar, guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals, production Patrick Keeler – drums, percussion, backing vocals, production Additional musicians Dean Fertita – piano, synthesizers, guitar, organ Lillie Mae Rische – violin Scarlett Rische – mandolin Joshua V. Smith – backing vocals, organ

Technical personnel Michael Fahey – assistant mixing Dusty Fairchild – assistant engineering Vance Powell – mixing The Raconteurs – production, mixing Bill Skibbe – mastering Joshua V. Smith – engineering Other personnel Rob Jones – design, cover art concept Patrick Keeler – photography, design Tristan McNatt – cover art concept Ian Montone – management

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Help Us Stranger Chart (2019) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 23 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[25] 7 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 8 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[27] 26 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[28] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] 10 French Albums (SNEP)[30] 22 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 14 Irish Albums (IRMA)[32] 24 Italian Albums (FIMI)[33] 34 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34] 84 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[35] 38 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[36] 28 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[37] 25 Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] 6 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[39] 18 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 6 UK Albums (OCC)[41] 8 US Billboard 200[42] 1 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[43] 1 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[44] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Help Us Stranger Chart (2019) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[45] 53