Posted by Jack in 2010 | 2 Comments
New Black Keys “Tighten Up”
The new Black Keys single is exactly what you would expect from a blues band who have spent the last two years working with the heavy-handed Danger Mouse. Attack & Release was a sonic venture away from the Akron duo’s gritty North Mississippi style blues roots, and it seems that Brothers, due out May 17th on Nonesuch, will follow in the over-production tradition of it’s successful successor.
The problem is that the Black Keys thrive on primitive sounds, and the farther away they get from the nakedness of drums and guitar, the flatter their music gets. For the most part “Tighten Up,” sounds like an unheard b-side from Attack & Release, but at least it’s got a good beat and Dan Auerbach can still moan like a southern man 20 years dead and drunk.
The best thing so far about Brothers is the cover art, which is a typographic tribute to the Muddy Waters’ album Electric Mud, as well as Howlin’ Wolf’s, The Howlin’ Wolf Album.
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“The problem is that the Black Keys thrive on primitive sounds, and the farther away they get from the nakedness of drums and guitar, the flatter their music gets”
Thank you! I've felt this way from the moment I heard Attack & Release. I've loved the Black Keys since I first heard Rubber Soul oh so long ago. It's their scuzzy, lo-fi blues sound that makes me tingle. It took a LONG time for Attach & Release to grow on me. I dig Danger Mouse, and I appreciate artists growing and changing, I just wish The Black Keys would leave the studio and go back to recording in cellars.
On point!