Five Songs From...The Black Keys

If Brothers was their breakout album in 2009, then the Black Key's seventh album El Camino, released last December and debuting at number 2 on the Billboard 200, was certainly their most widely heard, appreciated, Googled, etc.  It only took seven albums for everyone to realize how talented and widely appealing they could be.  Even in their earliest days as two college drop outs playing music in a small town in Ohio, their sound, performance style and energy all pointed towards something great.  Nonetheless, they sat patiently without a care for fame and produced a stellar array of rock n' roll worth revisiting.

Formed back in 2001 and consisting of singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, the Black Keys were formed at a time when rock 'n roll had slowly seceded its monopoly hold of American ears in favor of the fast emerging hip-hop and R & B scenes.  Rock still had its big hitters in Pearl Jam, The Foo Fighters and Green Day, but at the time, it seemed no one could outsell Eminem, 'N sync or The Backstreet Boys.  As a result, the Black Keys came along during a time where rock formed itself on "revival" acts.  Post-punk revival was headed by acts like The Strokes and Interpol, while garage revival came back with The White Stripes and The Black Keys.  The revival of the latter genre meant a return to the raw sound and sheer simplicity formed by early blues rock 'n roll.  Recorded in Carney's basement, their debut album The Big Come Up did just that.  Stripped down guitars, drums and that's basically it.  

Met with some small, initial success, Auerbach and Carney remained a relatively unknown and mainly an "underground" act until the release of 2010's Brothers which earned them three Grammys including Best Alternative Music Album.  With this and the release of their latest album El Camino, the Black Keys have established themselves as something far greater than just two guys "reviving" old tunes.  Selling out their first stadium concert late last year, it's obvious they've done just that.  

Breakdown*...Girls- 'Album' [2009] || 'Father, Son, Holy Ghost' [2011]

I've decided to change the name of this new category from "Review" to Breakdown

Album [2011]

Growing up in the Children of God cult, Girls singer Christopher Owens said he never had anything that could be called a childhood.  He hardly knew his father, his older sister fled the cult never to return and he watched his brother die due to the cult's lack of medical practice or use of technology offered through their atypical lifestyle.  "Imagine being raised in the Taliban," he once said in an interview.  Through their debut album, cleverly titled Album, Owens opens up these past wounds and wrenching memories and spills out those feelings and troubled memories in song.  By this description, one could infer a more melancholic tone throughout the album. But this is hardly the case. What he sings about and what it sounds like come as polar opposites.  Yes, he offers a slower more melancholic song or two, but this seems to be standard practice on rock albums these days.

Owens opens up the album on “Lust for Life” with a simple request- longing for love and continues on  asking for things I never think twice about having like “pizza and a bottle of wine.”  Simple joys that most people take for granted.  But Owens is in no position to do so. As sad and sorry as these words come through, no such sadness emerges through the sound.  Fit with his erratically squeaky voice, “Lust for Life” is not complete until you add upbeat guitar riffs, snare taps, and maracas.  The culmination of these sounds work to overpower the seemingly despondent lyrics and creates a song nothing less than an upbeat, top-tapping delight.  The same trick is done on the next song “Laura” where you will find yourself grooving along with the bendy guitars riffs in approval as his pleas for love ring out in the background.

The songs on Album largely contain lyrics of considerable sadness, grief and loss; this comes as no surprise given Owens tumultuous back-story.  But he cleverly disguises them behind the more joyous and upbeat tempo of Beach Boys-esque guitars and other groovy, eccentric sounds.  A simple formula sure, but no two songs sound the same on Album.   You go from scratchy, washed out guitar chords on a two minute song called “Big Bag” right over to “Hellhole Ratface,” where the surfer-guitar mantra pulls back in favor of slow acoustic melodies.  The maracas are exchanged for sleigh bells and Owens’s craven voice takes center stage in a more tepid sounding melody.  But halfway into the seven minute song, Owens brings back the familiar, strengthening the sincere tone of this song with two more electric guitars, an organ and a choir of hands clapping the song through its end in a soothing crescendo.  Readers can relate to many of the song's lyrics.  On "Hellhole Ratface," Owens shows his longing to live life to the fullest as he sings "I don't want to die without shaking up a leg or two..."  You may not find yourself dancing to this song, but you won't skip it either.

He does this and then has a song like “God Dammed” which takes a similar simple approach carrying nothing more than an acoustic, a set of bongos and the perfect every once-in-a-while tap of a percussion rattle.  Almost the same on paper, but it sounds much different.  No two songs really sound the same at all.  Owens commonly likes to emit his past pains and sadness through the lyrics of Album, but it’s hardly a plea for sympathy as the words tend to be overpowered by the energetic tones of guitars, and stabilizing precussion sounds in every which possible way.  Even so, the slower sounding songs end up evoking more appreciation for their sounds than any sort of sadness or empathy.  With such a variance in style, Girls will keep you guessing on every track of Album, ensuring a great listen from start to finish.

Hear This..."The Nightwatchman - Black Spartacus Heart Attack Machine" Tom Morello

      FM plays music, AM doesn't, it's a simple as that or at least it was.  Over the years though we have seen some a handful of FM music stations fall under into the hands of those boring folk who favor dry discussions of the national debt and the upcoming election in favor of music.  Pressing issues, no doubt, but in this age of technology are there really enough people out there whose primary source of news comes from the radio that they need to expand beyond the realm of AM and destroy our music?  Besides when it comes to talk radio, NPR is king.  No AM station even comes close.

      So, the Man is taking away radio and has left its listerners hopeless.  If I were a crazy activist and wanted to declare a protest I would do so here.  (Acutally, I would probably spending most of my days occupying my local Walmart, but that's neither here nor there.)  Its much better to leave that stuff to music.  Politically-charged songs like "God Save the Queen" (1977) and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1983) came through hard in their time and had a purpose that has since then not been forgotten.  But nowadays a song about overthrowing "a fascist British monarchy" doesn't readily apply anymore.  (Besides, it seems like everyone loves Will and Kate.)  Thankfully, we look to artists like Rage Against the Machine for keeping that leftist corporate hatred faith alive in such songs as "Killing in the Name" and "Testify."   Powerful stuff, in fact Rage Against the Machine is the only band to have every one of their songs placed on 2001 Clear Channel Memorandum and thus demmed "lyrically questionable."  

      And how ironic it would be if I were to say that I came across this song particular song on AM radio.  It is true.  Before tuning my old-school radio back to FM from yesterday's baseball game, I caught the very end of the discussion about a song "Black Spartacus Hard Attack Machine" by an artist called The Nightwatchman.  This guy happens to be the solo project of Rage's spectacularly multi-talented guitarist Tom Morello.  Harmonica and all, I would have never put two and two together, but its more linked with what he says than how it sounds.  Sure its filled with overt political criticism, but Morello manages to hide this well behind a pleasant harmonica and back choir that make this song so nice to hear.  Whether I agree with his words or not is besides the point because behind these lyrics, "Black Spartacus Hard Attack Machine" just sounds cool.  Now go rebel!

                      

Useless Clatter...New Category For '"Review"'

In my experience, when an artist of my liking comes out with a new album I always seek it out, regardless of what critics say.  Whether Pitchfork or Rolling Stone give it a 9 or a 3 doesn’t matter because in most cases, my previous attachment to the band gives me reason to accepting the new material regardless of public opinion. 

      That being said, I am introducing a new category on TUNEclatter titled “Review.”  It’s important that the word contain those quotations because as I previously stated, I don’t stand by reviews of music as much as I do for movies.  What I will begin to attempt with this new category is not to give the album a rating as much as I would like to comment on the new material in terms of its sound comparison with the artist’s previously released album. 

      On my other blog, FILMclatter, I have a category titled ‘Why See This’ in which I state the reasons why I believe a particular movie is worth seeing.  In other words, I would rather just promote the movies and music I love as opposed to giving a mark of criticism to everything I can.  There are plenty of people out there doing the same thing, so I see any effort of my own to be rather trivial. 

      Above all though, I have always found myself interested in looking at the particular change in style a band encompasses over the years and therefore feel that comparing albums in that matter is a much more noteworthy thing for me to write about as opposed to shelling out the 100^th review of an album months after its release. 

+ The first albums that will be “reviewed” then will be from the San Francisco indie band, Girls. Their two albums being Father, Son, Holy Ghost from last September and their debut feature, Album, from 2010.

Useless Clatter...Best Coast Unveils Artwork For Upcoming Album

      Bethany Cosentino takes everything us non-Californians crave during these cold winter months and shoves it in our faces.  You and I both know we would too if we lived in sunshine all year round.  But we don't.    We see snow.  Seriously, I feel like the only time I ever see those "Visit California" commercials on TV is during the dead of winter.  Sometimes they really are tough to watch. And I have to admit when Best Coast shuffles its way into my ear-buds during these cold months I have to press next because I know that when I walk out the door I won't be wearing sandals, holding a surfboard on my way to the beach.

      But despite the envy and seasonal ignoring I embark on every winter with Best Coast, that can all end soon enough.  And I really shouldn't be complaining because this has been one of the warmest winters on record but, nonetheless when I wake up, I'm not in California.  And its perfect timing for Bethany and company to release the some news about their forthcoming sophomore album titled "The Only Place" [I wonder what that's a reference too...]  The album comes out May 14th and recently Bethany has been so kind as to release the album's and art work.

Hear This...Bass Drum of Death "I Dunno"

      Without hearing any of their music, a band with the name Bass Drum of Death would quite easily render an assumption that they are of the black metal, death rock type.   By the name, comparisons to bands like Death, Napalm Death, or my personal favorite, Dying Fetus, come easy and lead to a common misnomer about this this terrific band.

      Started by one kid in a basement in Oxford Mississippi, Bass Drum of Death began as a solo project of John Barrett’s as he juggles the singing, guitar playing and bass drumming all on his own.  But very quickly, John Barrett’s left foot was replaced by drummer Colin Sneed tagging them as a full-fledged rock band.  The duo released their debut LP, GB City last April and has since then toured the U.S. as well as Great Britain and Australia.  Far from anything like Dying Fetus, Bass Drum of Death has found success through simple garage rock noises like drums, fuzzy guitar riffs and even fuzzier lo-fi vocals. 

      “I Dunno” is the first song from Bass Drum of Death since GB City.  Along with its release last October, John Barrett gave it the following introduction- "hope you guys enjoy…this is just a rough mix and unmastered, so you may hafta crank it.”  In my opinion, John Barrett couldn’t have hit it more spot on.  “I Dunno,” like the rest of their songs is short and sweet.  Sometimes, Barrett awards himself with a quick little solo in his songs to show off his guitar mastery but finds no use for it here.  Instead, the spotlight falls upon Sneed’s drumming.  It’s nothing to awe at, but in no time, you will find yourself tapping along.  Simplicity is the key here.

      Other than bands like The White Stripes and The Black Keys, it seems like most artists have moved in the opposite direction as they look for new and more technical ways to approach music.  Being the first to do anything is usually cool.  Bass Drum of Death doesn’t care about that instead falling back on the simplistic approach to rock ‘n roll.  And with the recent success and international touring they have begun, why do anything different?

Useless Clatter..."Lonely Boy" vs. "Gold On The Ceiling"

      For all that really mattered, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney could have named their band "The Black Sheep."  Besides being relatively close to their actual name, The Black Keys, the band has always seemed to be the weird sibling in the family of modern rock 'n roll.  Not distinctly alternative rock that's heard on the radio or what used to be the antithesis of radio rock, indie rock- no The Black Keys are more intractable than that.  Along with Jack White's White Stripes, The Black Keys emerged as one of the top outputs of the 90s generation.  Their music was of the simpler sound, bent on catchy riffs and basic drum taps, echoing the early days of blues rock.  Both seemed to get by on the bare bones of rock 'n roll.

      And with the recent break up of The White Stripes, and Jack White constantly managing a handful of other projects, The Black Keys appear to be the front runner of this modern off-beat rock, until recently.   The Black Keys remained primarily under the radar through their first five albums but found recent mainstream success in 2010's Brothers and their latest album El Camino which recently held the #2 spot on the Billboard 200.  While The Black Key's made their name on raw blues-like rhythms, their latest efforts, especially El Camino, seem to be merging their old selves with styles reminiscent of  some of today's pop music.

      The two songs I had in mind were actually the album's two singles, "Lonely Boy" and "Gold on the Ceiling," and I can see why they were selected. If pop artists like Lady Gaga can have successful, catchy songs, why can't rock bands have the same?These two songs are faster, more up beat tracks that have you tapping your foot along in rhythm before you realize it.  To add, the lyrics seem more frequent and casual where singing along is encouraged and with that going you have a hit.  In this case, The Black Keys have two, those of which I can't decide which I like better.  Which do you prefer?

"Lonely Boy"- A Black Keys album has never started off sounding like this.  For El Camino  "Lonely Boy" replaces the drawn out, woeful sounding riffs in exchange for a flashy, confident set of notes that seem only appropriate to dance to.  Melodic chants and catchy yet simple refrains made this song an instant radio hit and setting the bar high for the album's remaining tracks.

"Gold on the Ceiling"- "Lonely Boy" really met its match with this song.  Dan and Pat revert back to their traditional garage rock sounds with a little bit of flair. Synthesized guitars lead the way while an organ chimes out subtly behinds its chorus.  Just like "Lonely Boy," this song's distinct and powerful refrain has a sing-a-long feel to it that'll have your approval in no time.

Hear This...Trent Reznor's "Dragon Tattoo" Score

     After winning an Oscar for Best Original Score for "The Social Network," composer and Nine Inch Nails front man, Trent Reznor is teaming up with director David Fincher once again to provide the original score for Fincher's latest project- adapting Stieg Larsson's best selling book "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."  It is the first book of Larsson's Millennium Series, all of which will be adapted to the screen by Columbia Pictures. While set for a December 21 release, samples of the film's score have been released and can be heard below.  Also, Reznor can be heard collaborating with Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O covering Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" in a teaser for the film, which can be seen below. 

Hear This...Dum Dum Girls- Only In Dreams

Listen to the new LP by the Dum Dum Girls- Only in Dreams before it's release on 9/27/11.
Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams by subpop
Music provided by SoundCloud via Sub Pop Records

Album Review...St. Vincent- Strange Mercy LP

        I had the opportunity of seeing St. Vincent around this time last year at a free outside concert in conjunction with my university.  To be honest, the quad was not packed with hundreds of fans sporting St. Vincent t-shirts, but at the same time, I don’t think that's her intention.  What I saw was a delicate yet powerful singer-songwriter and I didn't think much more than that. "Sure, I liked her," I told my roommate afterwards.

      A year later, her third album, Strange Mercy, has been getting rave reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone Magazine as well as NPR, and you know when NPR approves, it’s got to be good.  They seem to have evolved more into the mainstream youth culture pop output and less of what your mom listens to as she drives you to soccer practice, as they are currently streaming the album of their website-  http://www.npr.org/2011/09/04/139946514/first-listen-st-vincent-strange-mercy (But that’s certainly a different topic all on its own.) 

      For Strange Mercy, it’s as though you have to publish your own bad review for this thing to have any negative publicity attached to it.  While obvious differences appear on this album compared to her previous works, Marry Me (2007) and Actor (2009), the change has come with widespread approval.  Pianos and violins have been swapped for the rougher, edgier sounds of electronic drums and synthetic tones.  From the first track, "Chloe in the Afternoon", the heavy synth-sound and electric riffs prove that she’s one to take seriously on this new style.  And while there seems to be a wayward swing towards pop-music and collaborations between traditional sounds and that of synthesizers and techno beats, Annie Walker manages to work it to perfection.  While the big buzz behind the album is the new sound, songs such as "Surgeon" and "Dilettante" hold a slower tempo that most St. Vincent fans can recall from previous tracks. On the last track of the album, "Year of the Tiger," Annie sings the line "Oh America can I owe you one?" as if indebted toward her listeners.  I think at this point, however, we owe her one.

      St. Vincent is definitely not the first artist to make an ambitious change in her musical style, but what can surely be said is that it works well- really well.  Looking back a year, I imagine it would be difficult to book a free St. Vincent concert like that again for some time.  My guess is that if I want to see her preform again, I’ll have to pay for the ticket, but that’s not such a bad thing at all.        - 8/10 

Strange Mercy was released on September 13, 2011 by 4AD Records


     Top Tracks:                                                 What They Say:
Chloe in the Afternoon                                Rolling Stone- 4½ out of 5
Cruel                                                            Pitchfork- 9 out of 10
Strange Mercy                                             Spin- 9 out of 10
Year of the Tiger