ARTIST: The Black Keys
ALBUM: El Camino
LABEL: Nonesuch/Warner Music Group
RELEASE DATE: December 2, 2011
Keys to Success
Written by Katie J. Norris
It doesn’t get any more classically modern than this. Guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney are the slightly unsuspecting duo that comprises The Black Keys. They hail from Akron, Ohio and have recently relocated to Nashville, TN, where they found a new home for themselves and their studio. This is their seventh studio album and it is safe to say that they have found the sweet spot in existing on the fine line between mainstream and free-falling, soulful-garage blues-type rock. They have evolved past the darker side of garage-rock revival and into the light of today’s popular choice. In the past, they have landed themselves a few singles—one being Grammy-winning, “Tighten Up.” They also have a history of working the licensing market like an art, as several of their previously released songs landing prominent spots in TV episodes, blockbuster movies and commercials.
El Camino is their best work to date. It’s hard to be critical of an indie-rock duo that makes one set of songs fit so many occasions. It’s hard to decide where to pin them down on this album because, while the music is bright and dirty, the lyrics are passionately pained from lost love; and yet the production takes the whole thing and turns it into all-around driving music, where, preferably one is driving out of a dusty town after robbing some nasty trouble makers, and making out like a bandit.
The album opens with “Lonely Boy,”a gritty song that would be melancholy, except for the colorful melody and the choir of back-up singers for the chorus: “Oh, Oh, Oh, I got a love that keeps me waiting…” It’s classic blues that you can move to. In the second song, “Dead And Gone,” they capture all the glory of the first song, but the lyrics are delightfully bait and switch. Auerbach sings, “Don’t’ call me, I’ll call you/Is what you say/I’ll obey. “ The drums chug us through to an earworm of a chorus melody. “Gold on the Ceiling” then follows and their ZZ Top influences shine through the cracks in their garage. “Little Black Submarines” takes us down to a soulful acoustic, with just guitar and raw vocals. Light percussion hugs around the direct, yet indirect, lyrics about desperation and an exposed heart. “But everybody knows/That a broken heart is blind.” And it doesn’t let us down, picking up the intensity two minutes in with electric guitar and a full-band explosion. “Money Maker” follows a flashback to the dark corners of rock n’ roll terms of bending vocal melodies and subject matter. “Run Right Back” could quite possibly be a number one favorite. In this track, the guitar opens with a wailing melody that is also the chorus. An instrumental-driven chorus never felt so singable. All the while, essence of ZZ Top is now dripping off the track. “Sister” delves into the conundrum that is the anticipation of a break-up; is he leaving her or is she already out the door? Only it’s done in a boogie groove with badass distortion effects on the keys and a driving rock beat delivered by Carney. “Hell of a Season” blends bluesy vocals and garage rock again, but wait, in chimes a reggae skank “riddim” from the guitar. “Stop Stop” has some cleverly apparent lyrics that create visions of a spicy love; Auerbach comparing it with an illegal weapon. It dances into present time, making it anything but a typical, pondering reflection of a static situation. And the music helps allude to the intended getaway theme of the album. “Nova Baby” is a lighter bounce of syncopation painted under lyrics about a girl who is causing the singer heartache; this time because “you don’t know what you want.” The closer, “Mind Eraser,” couldn’t have been a better song to end the album. Piano chords enrich the funk in the track and the melody twists around melting transitions that compliment the lyrics. A very apt chorus for the last track exists in, “Oh, don’t let it be over…”
Part of the reason this album came together so effectively is due to the assistance of producer, Danger Mouse. You can spot his fingerprints all over it. He doesn’t intrude on the raw, genuine soul and blues of the duo; he hones in on it, adding a sparkle that has caught a lot of the attention this album has received. One interesting thing about El Camino is that, though it is not really noted, The Black Keys do not write one single bridge for any of their songs. In its place, instead, are clever instrumentals followed by a last repeat of an energy-riddled build of the chorus.
Out on the road, as in the Spanish translation of El Camino, The Black Keys are on a touring frenzy. To scout dates for their arrival in your city, to get the album that’s shaking things up, and to get on their list for everything else, go to www.theblackkeys.com.