2011, Nonesuch Records

The Black Keys are an American rock duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney.

The Black Keys have made a lot of music. A lot of music that could be transfered from album to album without much quarrel. This is one of their defining factors, and one which could make or break such a band.

The lead single from this album, Lonely Boy, was a welcome return for this Ohio based blues duo. They did what they always did, making a great blues song with a catchy video. It seemed like it could have come off any of their past LPs, which isn’t nessesarily a bad thing. However, one might expect them to do something a bit more with their album, an assumption that proves to be wrong.

As the album gets into the flow of things throught he first few tracks, one might assume that this album might be a bit of a departure from what they have done previously, utilising vocal harmonys and different instrumentation to create a less Black Keys like vibe. 

But as the LP gets towards the middle and the song writing gets lazy, The true colours of this album really shine through. It seems like Dan Auerbach has got his old song book out, said - ‘Hey, If i put this half a step up and change my vocal style slightly, we can cram this into the middle of the new album!’ Little Black Submarines sounds like it was lifted straight from The White Stripes ‘Elephant’ and Money Maker just sounds like any other Black Keys song ever. I do appreciate the effort they make to put more guitars in and change up the style, but it just didn’t work out.

Then as we get into the final quarter of the album it starts to get silly. The production may be good (courtesy of Dangermouse) but the song writing really gets lack. Run Right Back is atrocious, And the vocals and guitar style of Sister just harks back to everything they have ever done but without any kind of passion at all. 

As the album comes to a close there is some sense of salvation. The stand-out track of the album is Nova Baby. An interesting chord sequence and nicer mixing make for a much more listenable track. If the whole album was as well thought through and as well mixed as this track, I’m sure i would be a lot happier.

I think that the album comes to an appropriate close with the song Mind Eraser. A song title one can only assume is lifted from the 2009 Them Crooked Vultures LP - Them Crooked Vultures. A song of no worth, a simple chord and vocal line capped off with a plagiarised song title. It is difficult to write blues albums when you have money and a comfortable life, but The White Stripes proved two things the The Black Keys should take heed of.
1. Changing your style from album to album is not a bad thing. You can make diversity work for you.

and 2. Quit while you’re ahead.

I expected a lot more from The Black Keys on this album. I wanted something that i could come back to and enjoy. Something diverse and interesting. Something I wouldn’t have to label ‘File under: Black Keys albums’.

Dan Auerbach recently said that he liked the lyrics of Danny Brown and a other rappers. Lets just say, that if we ignore this LP and wait for another Blakroc release, we all may sleep a lot easier.

5/10

Cal.

2011, No Quarter Records

“The Psychic Paramount is a New York based experimental rock group from New York City.”

Lets get a few things straight. New York experimental rock music isn’t anything new. And frankly, The Psychic Paramount aren’t doing anything new either. Also, Just because your songs are written in 5/4, I’m not sure if the label Experimental Rock can fit you anymore. However, That’s not to say that when i first heard of what this album was going to be I was expecting them to really break the mould with this release.

The first track on this album, ‘Intro/SP’ comes on strong. Building up with a cacophony of guitars similar to the first track on the latest Liturgy album Aesthetica. The tone of the guitars on both of these records is so bright that the gap between the high and low end is unfathomable. Luckily, TPP manage to bridge this gap with some nice atmospheric synths that come in towards the end of the song. Its one of the saving graces for this album in my opinion, they have a very strong and slow drone-style to them that nicely offsets the possibly over manic and hectic drums and guitars.

As the album progresses through the next few songs, TPP start to wear their influences on their sleeves a bit more. The second track DDB sounds like it could have come right off the new Battles album, Gloss Drop. Gloss Drop was released after this LP, but ever since Tyondai Braxton left, It was evident that the instrumentalists left in Battles were always going to head towards this darker, more guitar heavy style of production. This leads the question though, would i rather listen to this LP than Gloss Drop? Or perhaps something else from their back catalogue.

Don Caballero obviously have left their mark on TPP too. The next track RW sounds like something that could have come straight off of World Class Listening Problem. I must reiterate that this may not be a bad thing. The poly-rhythms displayed by the drummer on this track are definitely not a rip off of anything, but the discordant guitars and grooving bass-line could have come right of Damon Che’s desk.

As the LP progresses through the last 4 songs, the production dirtys up. The songs get heavier and the guitars come to the forefront of the mix. With the track N5, the production manages to open up at the end, and let the strange sample of a very loose piano or guitar string resonating on the beat. Its this sort of unexpected twist to the LP that is another one of the saving graces for this album, leading it away from the standard Experimental Rock style.

This interesting production manages to transfer to the track N6, which uses some really nice EQ experimentation to highlight the intricate guitar playing. The second half gets a lot heavier, and a lot more chaotic. One of the highlights of the album for me.

The second to last track Isolated has a very interesting drum miking technique. It sounds like it is recorded with one mic placed in the centre of the room, picking up the ambiance and resonance of the space. There is less emphasis on the bass in this track, leaving the low end quite empty. Its a very effective penultimate track for this album.

The album closes with N5 Coda. This could be a reference to the track earlier on in the album, a it does bare some similarities. I found myself just staring at my computer screen listening to this song, it really managed to lose me. The harmonised and drone style guitars come back, and really give a sense of closure in my mind, seeing as it is very similar to the way the first track on the album is structured towards the end.

Overall, I think this album has a lot of good ideas, but not necessarily original ideas. It starts strong, but then has a major dip in the middle, when it just falls into very samey ideas. It picks up towards the end however, with the production getting a lot more varied, and the whole album picking up in stylistic features.

The main question with this release in my mind is ‘Will I choose to listen to this album over its influences?’ I can’t help but feeling that this is a record that i won’t be coming back to. Especially thinking that i could go and listen to any Battles release and get a lot more out of it.

4/10

Cal.

right,

i’ve realised i need an outlet for some of my opinions on albums i listen to, so this could well become said outlet. i will review new releases and re-issues, and even though this is titled LP Reviews, i will most probably be reviewing EPs too.  i’ll try and work out a form for the reviews and schedule of when i’m going to post them during this first week, so at the moment they may be quite badly done and posted at wierd times. i’m going to go start drafting my first one now. so hey, here goes.

cal.