Weekly Release Spotlight: The Black Keys
Posted on 12/18/2011
The Black Keys
El Camino
Nonesuch
El Camino
Nonesuch
2010 was a good year for Akron duo The Black Keys. Their album Brothers won 3 Grammys, peaked at #3 on the billboard charts, and sold 847,000 copies. This is one of the most deserved indie success stories. The Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney started out playing ten dollar gigs and recording their albums in basements, bathrooms and tire factories. They also toured in an old Chrysler Town and Country, the car you see on the cover of their new album El Camino.
El Camino marks the duos 7th release, their third with producer Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) who also helped with the songwriting. The two wanted to write songs that translated well into the live setting because of that, this album is 40 minutes of grit, tire smoke, and fun. Its uptempo, its noisy, and it goes like... well, an actual Chevy El Camino.
The album starts with "Lonely Boy" a three minute boogie that starts with a guitar riff that sounds like an engine cutting out for a second before firing back up and racing through the rest of the track. For the most part its off to the races at this point the only real pitstop on the album is the first half of "Little Black Submarine". It starts off with two minutes of nothing more than Dan Auerbach and an acoustic guitar then someone kicks on an electric guitar, the rest of the band jumps in, and its time to buckle up again. It's probably the most touching track and the change in dynamic is welcome, especially with this albums GO GO GO attitude. "Gold On the Ceiling " is another standout, it thumps along with wicked organ and a tire squeal guitar riff. It even features a synth note akin to the windows startup noise.
If you haven't heard anything on the album yet, don't worry, a batch of these songs are sure to make the rounds on a few commercials. Hell, maybe Chevy will bring the El Camino back just so they can use one of these songs for its commercial. This album is a joy ride, from start to finish. It's gritty, it's a little dangerous, and it's just plain fun; like an old car should be.
Stream: The Black Keys - "Lonely Boy"