Akron's
the Black Keys
have jumped labels again with
Magic Potion
. Beginning on their own
Alive
label, the band established itself internationally with
Thickfreakness
and
Rubber Factory
. They appear now with their
Nonesuch
debut -- they share a label with everyone from
Pat Metheny
Sam Phillips
to
Toumani Diabate
Stephin Merritt
. Fans needn't worry that
being on a label distributed by
Warner
has done anything to their sound.
is gritty, raw, immediate and sludgy. It was recorded at the band's studios in Akron, and the only real difference is that they've become even better at what they do. Here are 11 tunes rooted in
blues
and riff-heavy
rock
, with only guitar and drums ripping through them like a loose power cable in a thunderstorm. Check out the wildly rockist riff that is at the heart of the album's opener
"Just Got to Be,"
or the wily shambolic
in
"Your Touch."
If anything,
reminds the listener of the late great
Red Devils
King King
except they have a deeper
country
, south-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line feel to them, even on a ballad such as
"You're the One,"
which feels like it's barely being held together by
Dan Auerbach
's voice, which unifies the guitar and
Patrick Carney
's drums.
"Strange Desire"
is an electric-acid-
moan disguised as a ballad, whereas
"Just a Little Heat"
inverts the riff from
Led Zeppelin
's
"Living Loving Maid "
to offer a wide-open howl of distorted guitar and a slippery snare and cymbals crash. For those who feel that the
have nothing to offer in the 21st century -- especially
electric blues
, which has spawned countless cookie-cutter, slick deceptions disguised as the real thing --
should satisfy deeply. Here is a future
that comes right from the groin of history, reinterpreted through
garage rock
, alcohol, and rage: just check out
"Modern Times."
In the slow drawling burn, one can hear
Junior Kimbrough
's ghost possessing
Auerbach
.
"Elevator"
closes the set on a feedback-drenched, minimal
Delta blues
that has more to do with the cagey antics of
Charley Patton
Lightnin' Hopkins
-- and
R.L. Burnside
, too -- than with either
the White Stripes
or
Ronnie Earl
. This is vulgar music, completely unsentimental or nostalgic but with a deep, wild, and tenacious heart; it's spooky, un-caged, and frighteningly descriptive of our time and place. It's been a long time since the majors put out a record this savage. This is the door to the
in 2006; hold on to your hips because they will begin to twitch. ~ Thom Jurek