Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys may be one of the best blues musicians of our time. As a successful touring and recording artist, not to mention happily (much to my girlfriend’s dismay) married father, the 32-year-old Akron, Ohio native is a disciple of Mississippi blues legend Junior Kimbrough. Auerbach may not pass the "I slept in this suit and my woman shot me down" authentic-pathetic test for true blue sentiment, but man can he wail on an ax. Oh, and then there’s his salty tenor, dripping and gushing with raw attitude. As good as the guy has it now, there must be some serious adversity in his past that we don’t know about.
Though Auerbach is probably better known for his half-dozen Black Keys records, performing alongside fellow Akronite and drummer Pat Carney, he did venture off for a solo effort in 2009 titled Keep it Hid. Most of the gritty, lyrical tracks sound and feel like the Black Keys, but the drums are less bombastic (Carney wasn’t involved in this project, though the Bigfoot with maracas is rather imposing) and the instrumentation and layering is more complex (organs? synths? female harmony? oh my). But why change what ain’t baroque?
Though not exactly garage rock anymore, Auerbach’s only taken "a few baby steps up the basement stairs" here, according to Pitchfork’s Stephen M Deusener. Auerbach hadn’t exactly challenged himself to move that far out of the bluesy box, but he obviously took some creative steps forward, as evidenced on 2010’s tightened-up and more conceptual Brothers.
Like Brittany, I’m not generally a fan of the slow jam, but the title track from Auerbach’s solo debut is a beauty. The song is dark, mucky, a murder-robbery dirge ("They’re comin’ for me girl and I ain’t got time" – there can only be a few explanations). The roguish tone and wicked, convulsing solos (seen live, his spasmic playing borders on pornographic) perfectly convey an outlaw’s ballad. No, Carney wasn’t there, but it’s still a hot, black track.
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