The Black #&$%ing Keys!
That was the first thing I posted on Facebook after seeing/listening to “Lonely Boy,” the first video/single from the Black Keys’ seventh album, “El Camino.” That was Oct. 26. I had to wait six weeks for the full album, but my, oh, my, was it worth the wait.
If you’re not familiar with The Black Keys, you will be. Or you are and just don’t know it. The duo, consisting of drummer Patrick Carney and guitarist Dan Auerbach, released the near-perfect, “Brothers,” in 2010. They went out, toured the country, moved more than 870,000 copies of the disc and sold a number of the singles to be used in EVERYWHERE – “Tighten’ Up” (FIFA 11) and “Howlin’ for You” (NHL 11), to mention a few. And in between tour stops they would head home to record the bones of what would become “El Camino.”
Unlike the soulful, dirty blues of “Brothers,” “El Camino” comes at you hard and fast, from the “Lonely Boy” opener through the ‘70s-infused closer “Mind Blower.” In between is an unapologetic nod to Zeppelin-era “Stairway to Heaven” (“Little Black Submarines”), tasty hooks, more than a little surf guitar, and some of the best lines you’ll hear beyond your Christmas dinner with Aunt Gert.
You can either get this album right now and start rockin’, or have to listen to every one of your cool, hipster friends tell you why “You just have to hear the new Black Keys, man! It’s freaking awesome!” Your choice.
Recommended: “Lonely Boy,” “Stop Stop,” “Money Maker,” and “Little Black Submarines”
If you like: The Black Keys, good music and a good time
BCB – Great River Radio
I like having a good time! I like the Black Keys!
Just got it today! PUMPED