Saturday, October 2, 2010

KEEP IT HID - Dan Auerbach (2009)

This solo outing from Black Key's guitarist/lead vocalist Auerbach, though decent, offers little to separate it from regular Black Keys releases, with the one major exception that here Auerbach often approaches the material as a full band exercise rather than the more skeletal approach taken in recent Key's albums like Magic Potion.

Street Walkin' is an excellent, almost Zeppy romp, and My Last Mistake, When the Night Comes, I Want Some More, Trouble Weighs a Ton, and Mean Monsoon are all solid songs that offer a variety of takes on Auerbach's blues-anchored aesthetic, but little here is great or memorable, and I think down the line this album will mostly be remembered for allowing Auerbach to experiment with a more textural approach to his arrangements that doesn't quite pay off here but comes to wonderful fruition in the Keys' 2010 release Brothers.

So not a bad album, but one I only feel comfortable recommending to hardcore Auerbach/Black Keys fans.

Every one else should just go pick up a copy of Brothers and jam to the unrelenting awesomeness of Ten Cent Pistol.

Status: Mild Recommend.

Cherry Picker's Best Bets: I Want Some More, When The Night Comes, My Last Mistake, Street Walkin'.

Component Breakdown:
1. Trouble Weighs A Ton - 7
2. I Want Some More - 7
3. Heartbroken, In Disrepair - 5
4. Because I Should - 5
5. Whispered Words - 6
6. Real Desire - 5
7. When The Night Comes - 7
8. Mean Monsoon - 7
9. The Prowl - 7
10. Keep It Hid -6
11. My Last Mistake - 8
12. When I Left The Room - 5
13. Street Walkin' - 8
14. Goin' Home - 7



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