In a time when there are only really a couple of well-known blues-rock duos around, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between The Black Keys to The White Stripes. Both bands emerged at the beginning of the decade with minimalist mentalities, understanding that the blues was based on the bare essentials of a guitar and the weeping of a man’s heart conveyed through his vocals. In recent efforts, both bands have begun to evolve their sound as their careers have progressed, although in slightly different ways. While Jack White has steered his ship towards edgier, more frenetic rock innovation, the two boys from Akron, Ohio have tried to elevate their down-to-earth, back-to-basics blues approach to loftier, more atmospheric heights.
With Attack & Release, the Black Keys have enlisted Danger Mouse to produce, picking what would seem to be the perfect man to bring their sound to a daring, new place. Danger Mouse has been popping up all over 2008, including his second LP collaboration with Cee-Lo on their band Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple, as well as producing Beck’s stripped down, crunchy and sometimes brilliant Modern Guilt. Listening through the album, we certainly hear his crafty presence as he struts his stuff with sonic manipulation and instrumentation flourishes. The haunting backing “oohs” on songs like “Psychotic Girl” and “Strange Times” remind us of the desolate soundscapes that he helped create on Gorillaz’ 2005 hit Demon Days. However, his presence is only really noticeable on a handful of tracks, as he seems to be keeping his hands away from the mixing board more often than not.
The album unfolds with the lazy, rolling blues of “All You Ever Wanted” which immediately showcases Dan Auerbach’s strong and soulful voice. The song carries along in a dreary fashion until the last 45 seconds when a tidal wave of organs, electric guitar, and drums come crashing in. The band chugs away throughout the album, alternating between hard-hitting songs led by heavy, fairly straight-forward riffs to slower, soul-soaked blues (see album title for a more concise articulation of this pattern). Auerbach and Patrick Carney (on drums) both sound very tight. However, at times the production seems almost too polished, which actually becomes one of the major faults of the album for me. One of the most treasured parts of The Black Keys’ sound (as also credited to The White Stripes) was their low-fi, raw sound that fittingly matched the stripped down blues they were so respectfully honoring. However, Danger Mouse seems to have cut out the fuzz, revealing the band in stark clarity.
One of the more interesting choices on the album is the pair of tracks in the middle respectively called “Remember When (Side A)” and “Remember When (Side B)”. The first is an atypically trippy blues song that almost floats through a mystic, desolate, percussion-less setting. “Remember When (Side B) is actually just another take on the same song, this time decorated by Auerbach’s most violent wails on the guitar and Carney’s most relentless percussion to appear on the entire album. One can easily see this pairing of songs as a microcosm for the general, two-sided nature of the album, which essentially takes the form of a balancing act between their typical blues rock tendencies and the more otherworldly direction Danger Mouse has taken them in.
There are certainly times when the collaboration with Danger Mouse works wonders. The best pick of the litter is “Same Old Thing”, where Auerbach once again leads with his crooning vocals, while Carney backs with a steady beat, and Danger Mouse crafts his production around a piping flute loop and intermittent, weighty chants that drop with the beat. I also have to mention the most dazzling exhibition of Auerbach’s vocals, which appears on “Oceans & Streams”, with precisely wavering vocals that are simply stunning and which remind us of one of the strongest elements of the band’s success.
The direction that the band has taken on this album can best be summed up by the title of the closing track, “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be”. It’s obvious that The Black Keys have deviated from their past, minimalist blues rock roots with much more refined production values. Since their 2004 release Rubber Factory, the band has noticeably tried to elevate their sound into a more atmospheric realm, which Danger Mouse seems like the most obvious producer pick for. But in doing so they’ve begun to lose some of their identity as one of the best primitive blues rock bands around today. The album is certainly not a failure, exhibiting some of the strongest songwriting of the band’s career. However it all seems a bit lackluster and misguided in the end, often pushing the listener around a bit but never really grabbing and taking hold of them.
Key Tracks:
Remember When (Side B)
Same Old Thing
Oceans & Streams
Final Verdict: 7.1
The Black Keys - Same Old Thing
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