After the release of the Black Keys' fifth full length studio album, their major label debut Magic Potion, it's clear guitarist/singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney realized they had maxed out the garage/blues revival sound they had mastered in the early aughts. Magic Potion was good, but the studio recording of the duo -- no matter how loud the guitar got, how much depth of tone captured from the drum kit -- was thin. Their primitive sound, so intriguing when recorded in Carney's basement or the old tire factory (where Rubber Factory was made), didn't cut it in a studio setting. Also, the band seemed out of ideas. There was no where to go with the whole project. The band was getting bigger but the sound and the songs were not.
The Black Keys' next album Attack and Release, recorded with Danger Mouse proved the band had learned its lesson. Danger Mouse deepened the band's sound and added other instrumental layers. There was bass, keys, sound effects and even a flute. (A flute!) Suddenly the music had atmosphere that matched the otherworldly quality of Auerbach's soulful howl, which always sounds as if it's being broadcast from 50 years ago. Song ideas were stretched, too. There were still some great soulful rockers, There was less predictability -- less dependence on the pentatonic riff and more melodic compositions.
On the Keys' new release, Brothers (released in Tuesday), the band continues down the same path it began with Attack and Release. The new record is all about branching out and going where the BLack Keys have not gone before. There are no simple guitar/drum duos here. Every song is drenched in layers of sound. Not bound by the confines of the two-man sound of their live shows, The Black Keys have become a formidable recording act -- these guys now know how to use a studio and the result is an expanded sonic palate that may not be completely revitalizing, but it's close.
That sound has also let the band further broaden its composition scope. There is even more more distance back to the bands breakthrough second record Thickfreakness. That material seems a generation ago. The Keys still tick to a fairly familiar soul sound, but where past Keys efforts were soaked in the post-war Chicago sounds of Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf, the new material seems most closely inspired by the most experimental soul and proto-funk of the '60s -- There are moments that recall early Isley Brothers and a good dose of Maggot Brain-era Funkadelic. In a futher twist, Auerbach tackles several songs in a very good falsetto. It's a shock to the ears delivered on the first album Track "Everlasting Light," and several other tracks later on (Including a cover of Jerry Butler's "Never Gonna Give You Up.")
Brothers is certainly not The Black Keys' Yankee Hotel Fox Trot or Kid A. This is a band that still sounds like the same band. They've just added a lot of new tools to the toolkit. In one way, the Keys might be seen as doing to their sound what so many English producers have done to the bevy of "soul divas" who have released records that were made far more interesting by the richness of the recorded sounds than the songs themselves (From Amy Winehouse to Duffy). But the Keys are clearly interested a lot more in song craft than selling records or making postmodern artistic statements. They are a band that gets more interesting with every release. You can't ask for much more than that.
Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
On the other end of the spectrum is the new album by the Band of Horses, Infinite Arms.
Infinite Arms finds Ben Bridwell with a whole new band and a sound that's easily recognizable: driving rockers and quiet, acoustic ballads drenched in Bridwell's unique high-pitched singing. For those unfamiliar, think of My Morning Jacket without the grandiosity.
I wouldn't call the Band of Horses a guilty pleasure for me, but I like them a lot despite the fact that there's nothing amazing about the band. The debut Everything All the Time is one of my favorite records of the last 10 years, and part of it is that the band and Bridwell were able to make a beautiful rock record that is beautiful, dreamy and a joy to listen to in a way that seems almost effortless. It's indie rock composed and performed around a camp fire in the Carolinas or at a windswept beach in Northern California. If I were to suggest a soundtrack for just about anything, I'd try to put a Band of Horses song on it.
So I was not disappointed by the sleepy Infinite Arms. But I was left a bit bored by the ban, which seems to have spent a lot of effort (supposedly 16 months in the studio with major label backing) moving backwards.
There are some good songs on Infinite Arms. I really like the first single, "Compliments" (the hardest-charging number on the album), "Laredo," and "Blue Beard." But the overall pace of the record is quiet and slow. Most of that campfire crowd is asleep and Bridwell's hauled out the acoustic for a few late-night lullabies. Suddenly that terrific voice of Bridwell's is often in harmony (with himself or the band, hard to tell) for a sound that's eerily reminiscent of The Eagles.1 The song "Older" is nice, but it's a full-blown country western song, complete with steel guitar.2 The band has gotten a little too close to late '70s easy listening for my comfort.
Fans of the band should definitely pick up Infinite Arms. It's not as powerful as the band's other two records, but it has its moments. It's at least a better than average outing. Band of Horses, though, seems ripe for a little bit of reinvention. If not reinvention, reinvigoration. The Magic of songs like "Funeral" and "Great Salt Lake" is gone. Here's hoping Bridwell and crew figure out how to get it back.
Footnotes:
1. To truly appreciate this comparison, the reader should know that I despise the Eagles and Don Henly. I think Joe Walsh is OK, but overrated.
2. This song REALLY sounds like the Eagles.
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