The Black Keys - "El Camino"
January 23rd 2012 09:03
There is something about The Black Keys that's makes it almost impossible not to like. Each new song and each new album sounds so familiar. It's like a favorite pair of slippers - warm and comforting. The fuzz driven rock n’ blues guitar backed by the beating drums of Patrick Carney, it's the the sound they are known for and will hopefully be their sound for a long time to come.
Truth is, this album is kind of difficult to review. I could sift through my history and find some previous Black Keys reviews, change the title at the beginning and be done. The consistency of this record, along with the previous six records, is paramount to The Black Keys. It's what makes them so damn good. I think the band are incapable of writing a bad album. "El Camino" is just as good as "Brothers", "Rubber Factory", "Magic Potion" et al. And while the fundamentals are the same, the band do make natural progressions. The production is crisper than on "Brothers" but still keeps that's 70s vibe as that record had. The instruments are layered with more use of extra guitar tracks and keyboards which only adds to enhance Dan's brilliant songwriting.
The album kicks off the "Lonely Boy", the first single with the Fatboy Slim style video clip. It's a jazzy number with thick riffs. "Gold On The Ceiling" is a retro stomp of a track with a great hook and some cleaver lyrics from Dan. "Little Black" starts slow and melancholy before a fat riff draws in the rock and it ends up sounding a little White Stripes song. “Money Maker” is that typical Black Keys track with it’s dirty bluesy rock style that conjures up images of Malone’s Bar in True Blood.
Thats the thing about The Black Keys. Their albums could easily be the soundtrack to some cool cult movie or TV show. “Stop Stop” I could see used in a Tarantino type 70’s blaxploitation movie. The songs are just cool. It makes me wish I was able to write songs as cool as Dan and Patrick. Yet this is now second nature to these guys. Like I said before, they are incapable of making a bad record.
Truth is, this album is kind of difficult to review. I could sift through my history and find some previous Black Keys reviews, change the title at the beginning and be done. The consistency of this record, along with the previous six records, is paramount to The Black Keys. It's what makes them so damn good. I think the band are incapable of writing a bad album. "El Camino" is just as good as "Brothers", "Rubber Factory", "Magic Potion" et al. And while the fundamentals are the same, the band do make natural progressions. The production is crisper than on "Brothers" but still keeps that's 70s vibe as that record had. The instruments are layered with more use of extra guitar tracks and keyboards which only adds to enhance Dan's brilliant songwriting.
The album kicks off the "Lonely Boy", the first single with the Fatboy Slim style video clip. It's a jazzy number with thick riffs. "Gold On The Ceiling" is a retro stomp of a track with a great hook and some cleaver lyrics from Dan. "Little Black" starts slow and melancholy before a fat riff draws in the rock and it ends up sounding a little White Stripes song. “Money Maker” is that typical Black Keys track with it’s dirty bluesy rock style that conjures up images of Malone’s Bar in True Blood.
Thats the thing about The Black Keys. Their albums could easily be the soundtrack to some cool cult movie or TV show. “Stop Stop” I could see used in a Tarantino type 70’s blaxploitation movie. The songs are just cool. It makes me wish I was able to write songs as cool as Dan and Patrick. Yet this is now second nature to these guys. Like I said before, they are incapable of making a bad record.
The Black Keys-El Camino
| 19 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog