Wednesday, January 18, 2012

REVIEW: The Black Keys - El Camino



Grade: 90% (A-)

There have been rumors that the Black Keys broke up for a little while before 2008's Attack and Release. Apparently drummer Patrick Carney's wife/girlfriend was fed up with the band and it caused strife and a short break up. This helped Carney realize what he really cares about… His band, not his wife/girlfriend. They broke up and the band was back. Again, this is all rumors. Rumors.

Since then however, the Black Keys have put out three excellent albums for their genre of bluesy grunge rock. Attack & Release found critical acclaim from indie rock magazines and websites while Brothers earned the band a Grammy. 2011's El Camino is the perfect combination of the two albums. From the opening riff of "Lonely Boy" (which is just as grimy as when we first heard it back in October) through the ten fatiguing tracks that follow, the duo combines the classic rock feel of Attack & Release with the verge of pop hits Brothers gave us. 

The keyboard workings on "Gold on the Ceiling" take the lead in the chorus but Dan Auerbach still slays the guitar in between verses. The band has taken the addition of this keyboard and a second guitar/bass from Brothers and used it to their advantage while still maintaining the core of their sound with just Auerbach on lead and Carney on the drums on tracks like "Money Maker." 

The fact that these core values remain the same makes this a Black Keys album to both look back at their previous work and also propel them into the future. Auerbach has realized he can still look like the true guitar hero that he truly is by showing his solos off after an ascending chorus and Carney has mixed his garage style percussion with the rhythm and blues that producer Danger Mouse has clearly introduced him too. All the while, the lyrics of the songs are still as soft as they can be in front of this badass sounding instrumentals. 

While every track is solid in it's own way, "Little Black Submarines" is easily the standout. Simply put: when I first played it for friends, they had the audacity to compare it to "Stairway of Heaven." But this track isn't a lengthy epic. Instead, it is just over four minutes of something we haven't really heard from Auerbach and Carney before. However, I can see where they see the comparison. Why? Because the track comes out of left field when the boys slow it down with an acoustic guitar for the opening. Auerbach sounds like a coffee singer-songwriter singing, "everybody knows that a broken heart is blind," instead of the badass guitar slayer that he is before Patrick slides in with an accompanying rhythm in the second verse. While the first two minutes are certainly pretty, just after the two minute mark you get exactly what you want from the Keys. Auerbach slides in with the electric and mayhem breaks loose as you can picture Carney towering over his drum set banging away. Auerbach sings on with slick riffs and repeats the previously stated lyric, but this time with more emphasis. Not so much anger, but perseverance. The mind blowing solo that follows only solidifies this as one of the duo's top songs. It's contrast is what makes it great and what makes it different is it's smooth transition. 

In classic Black Keys fashion, no tracks extend past four and a half minutes. These guys know how to take every idea they have and compact it into three plus minutes of powerful blues rock. I don't need to tell you how sick Auerbach is shredding his guitar because that's to be expected. I also don't need to tell you that Patrick Carney delivers a groovy beat on every track because that's also to be expected. What I will tell you is that this flurry of good releases from the duo is very exciting and leaves us with even higher expectations for their next cut. That is, as long as neither of them get into a relationship that could jeopardize the band. Because this music is way to good to let go of. 

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