New! Music Monday

What's that you say? It's Tuesday? Well, touche, good sir. I wrote most of this last night, and was prepared to post it until sleepiness overcame me. So it goes! Despite all that, enjoy this latest review! Again, it's not new per se, but I've been listening to this album a lot lately and, in many ways, it's new to me.


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The Rust Belt is reeling. LeBron James, the Chosen One and anointed savior of Cleveland, spurned the city, leaving a behind a trail of ashes from the bridge leading from Ohio to Paradise that he had constructed. The Cleveland-Akron-Elyria region dubiously claims a higher unemployment rate than the national average as the manufacturing industry struggles to rebuild. Foreclosed homes litter the region, a growing trend compounded by a shrinking population. It’s fitting, then, that The Black Keys call this place home. The duo’s sound pulses with raw emotion as if they have taken the task of exorcising Ohio’s demons on their backs: each aching wail, crunching chord, and booming drum beat pushing out further all that haunts the region.

Since 2002, The Black Keys have released 7 albums, two EPs, and one compilation album, a staggering amount of music released over a relatively short period of time, all the while they’ve toured nonstop. With Brothers, the duo’s most recent release, they flash the workaholic badge pinned to their blue collars. Fifteen songs burst with the aching lyrics typical of the Blues that sound like they were recorded in a smoky bar on some weeknight after real work has ended. Most songs lament the loss of something: women, health, or opportunity. On “These Days,” the band’s memento of overwhelming sadness, Dan Auerbach sings, “These blood red eyes/Don't see so good/But what's worse is if they could/Would I change my ways?” Weary and worn down, he sings with little hope for recovery or development. “Next Girl” is cathartic and heavy, more yowled than sung over percussion that is felt rather than heard. “Oh my next girl/She'll be nothing like my ex girl/That was a painful dance/I got a second chance yeah,” the lyrics rumble from Auerbach’s surprisingly smooth voice, carrying with them the weight from heavy hearts carried by fellow Ohioans.

Patrick Carney pounds his drums so ferociously that it feels like he’s trying to drain all his energy, to break down so far that he has to rebuild himself. Likewise, Auerbach sounds like he’s tilting his head back and endlessly howling at some imaginary moon. The constant echo effect on top of the band’s music feels like traditional Blues music. “Howlin’ For You” and “Sinister Kid” each blend the sounds of the Deep South with more modern rock, bringing to mind The White Stripes or Them Crooked Vultures, acts that similarly mash up of classic and contemporary sounds. The end result just feels like music that should come from industrial Ohio.

In many ways, this part of Ohio is the new America. Beaten up and broken down, the city is nonetheless damn resilient. This approach is something that each person, from Alabama to Maine to Washington, can relate to. We’ve all suffered before and surely will again. Thankfully, bands like The Black Keys reconcile our differences and come around to soothe our pains.

Rating: 4.5/5