Instant Classic: Attack & Release

[Today: The Black Keys + Danger Mouse = instant classic...]

The Black Keys’ formula is a deceptively simple one: Patrick Carney beats up his drum kit while guitarist Dan Auerbach rolls through a series of blues/rock licks and sings like a chimney full of smoke. The Keys sound like the world’s greatest bar band, and their records are notable for what they don’t include: production gloss, complex song structures, showy solos, exotic instrumentation. So the choice of Danger Mouse as producer of their new album was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser. One could be forgiven for wondering what kind of hip-hop/electronica rinse the group’s sound was in for, but Attack & Release proves that any such concerns were entirely unfounded.

The Keys are probably the only group in the world who could make the addition of a couple of backup singers and a banjo sound like the transition to Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound. Recognizing this, Danger Mouse uses the slightest flourishes to enhance the group’s strengths. Rather than tweaking their formula, Attack & Release shows that the band’s tough blues/rock will cut through a more fully rounded sound. From the church organ that finishes off ‘All You Ever Wanted’ to the electronic bubbling that lies underneath ‘I Got Mine’, the album is full of small touches that frame Carney and Auerbach center stage.

The Black Keys have quietly emerged as one of the most consistently and prolifically rocking groups of this decade. They’re good for at least one album every year, and each of their records has been better than the last (with the exception of 2003’s Thickfreakness, which is just off-the-charts awesome, and might remain their defining album). That Carney and Auerbach are from Akron, OH and have continued to live there and stay close to their roots is no surprise. If that’s what it takes to achieve their brand of small town blues, then I hope they never move.

Listen: All You Ever Wanted

Tags: Akron OH, Attack & Release, Danger Mouse, Instant Classic, The Black Keys