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August 20, 2006
The Black Keys - Magic Potion
Half a year after releasing their stunning EP of Junior Kimbrough covers, The Black Keys will release Magic Potion on September 12. It is a compulsory purchase. Doubters will note that The Keys have not instrumentally expanded beyond Patrick Carney on drums and Dan Auedback on guitar, but consider how anchor-heavy those drums are and how raw that guitar is. Through comparison, their modern blues rock contemporaries are exposed as pretenders.
The album has a slow, majestic tempo throughout -- nothing approaches the speed of Rubber Factory's "All Hands Against His Own" -- but each song is distinct. There are catchy start-stop rockers in "Strange Desire" and lead single "Your Touch"; there are sparse, hazy numbers such as "The Flame" and "You're The One". Auedback's vocals remain soulful while being run through whatever filter he's using to make the record sound so ancient, and his lyrics simply work with the music.
I leave you with the first track from the album:
MP3: Just Got to Be (from Magic Potion)
Preorder Magic Potion from the band's store
Posted by dylanm at August 20, 2006 10:34 PM