Dan Auerbach has been quite busy since his latest album with The Black Keys, Attack & Release, dropped on April 1. On February 10, Keep It Hid snuck onto the scene leering and quickly marked its territory as a solo project that does not disappoint. The retro treasure was recorded at Auerbach’s home studio in Akron, Ohio. Laden with blues folk, the album opens with the acoustic, “Trouble Weighs A Ton”, before launching into the grittier sounds of psychedelic rock.
By the time “The Prowl” starts playing, you will probably have a bottle of whiskey in your hands and a swagger in your step. Auerbach menacingly croons, “I see you walkin’ after dark/ Trading looks with other men/ But I’m the only one you need/ And I know just where you’ve been” and you can practically picture him making eyes at you from across a smoky dive bar too late at night.
One of my favorites is the paranoid track, “When I Left The Room”. In a haunting whir of soulful psychedelia, Auerbach artfully laments a love affair gone rotten. He unapologetically moans, “But now her eyes foretell/ Only impending doom/ And I just wanna know/ What she said when I left the room.”
Although still a tad melancholy, “Goin’ Home” is more uplifting than its previous contenders. It rounds out the album with a comforting and familiar twang. Auerbach seems to have found a morsel of peace as he openly admits, “I want the sun to hit my face/ Through oak trees in the open lot/ Forget about the things you want/ Be thankful for what all you got.”
The Prowl mp3
When I Left The Room mp3
Mean Monsoon mp3
For more information check out Dan Auerbach's myspace page.
