Raconteurs: Who are the 'Consolers Of The Lonely'?

The Raconteurs have announced that they will rush-release their new album next week (March 25).

The record from Jack White and Brendan Benson's band will come out on all formats next Tuesday.

The album's title 'Consolers Of The Lonely' has drawn some speculation, but it appears the name has been inspired by the US postal service.

The phrase "consoler of the lonely" appears on a inscription on the south west corner of Washington DC's main post office, and was composed by American writer and educator Charles William Eliot.

The full inscription reads: "Messenger of sympathy and love, servant of parted friends, consoler of the lonely, bond of the scattered family, enlarge of the common life".

The postal theme certainly fits with the apparent artwork which has appeared on Theraconteurs.com, which invokes the early post-colonial days when the post office was the sole means of communication across the USA.

The image features the band in traditional dress, on a float being pulled by lions and bears the name of several states including Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio.

Michigan, is of course where Jack White and Brendan Benson are from, though they now lives in Tennessee. Ohio is where drummer and bassist Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence's old band hail from.