POP MUSIC

The Raconteurs

 Rockers

Anyone wondering what Jack White, above left, would sound like outside the basic guitar-drums-piano foundation of the White Stripes will get a chance early next year as the rock auteur takes a break from the Stripes to release an album and tour with the Raconteurs, a band he has formed with Detroit singer-songwriter Brendan Benson, above right.

“It’s a totally new band that sounds nothing like the White Stripes,” White said of the venture. “And I really want to stress that it is four guys, a whole band – definitely not a side project of mine or just me and Brendan. It’s a creative partnership.” The other members of the Raconteurs should be familiar to White fans. Bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler are in the Greenhornes, that opened several shows for the Stripes this year. The pair also formed the rhythm section on “Van Lear Rose,” the acclaimed 2004 album White produced for Loretta Lynn. “They are amazing musicians, very creative people,” White said of Keeler and Lawrence.

Explaining why he was drawn to the project, he added: “I wanted to try the idea of two singers both attacking songwriting, and I love the fact we have such different styles. Brendan is more like a careful craftsman, where there is always a lot more rawness to what I’ve done.”