Dan Auerbach - Keep ItHid

Thu 5th Mar, 2009 in Music Reviews

When someone in an established band decides to takes the solo road, their first release can often be met with a lot of expectation and trepidation. Will its sound be instantly recognisable from the band they’re better known for? Or on the flipside, will it sound much too similar? With Keep it Hid, Dan Auerbach has managed to strike just the right balance between the two, pushing his own personality to the forefront of his new material while retaining the signature warm, fuzzy blues vibe of his band The Black Keys.

Since the release of their 2002 debut The Big Come Up, Auerbach and his skins-partner-in-crime, Patrick Carney, have made their strong mark with their distinctive brand of lo-fi blues rock: a mélange of Carney’s driving, attacking drum force with Auerbach’s distortion-soaked riffs and distinctive grainy vocals. Their most recent album Attack and Release saw the band take their first step out of the basement and take a slightly different approach (which included the curious enlisting of Danger Mouse in producer role) toward a more expansive, layered sound. Keep it Hid continues along the Attack and Release path in spirit; sonically, it treads the path and diverges from it with seamless ease. Recorded in Auerbach’s own Akron Analog studio, the album showcases a maturing musician who remains loyal to the musical roots while also evolving and expanding his horizons.

Parts of Keep it Hid will sound familiar to Black Keys fans. The growling and raw I Want Some More, the rolling blues of Street Walkin’ and the title track Keep it Hid could have sat comfortably among some of the tracks on Thickfreakness or Rubber Factory. Other parts of the album are more spatial and melodic, employing country-tinged elements, like on the sparse opener Trouble Weighs A Tonne. Elsewhere there’s a roots-folk undertone, such as with the lilting Going Home. The real surprise on the album is When The Night Comes, a melancholy ballad unlike anything we’ve heard from Auerbach previously. The song showcases his diverse vocal abilities, which shine equally on another album highlight, the howling and psychedelic Mean Monsoon.

Dan Auerbach’s first solo release is nothing less than impressive – a solid album of swampy rock marked by a melodic sensibility. It dually cements Auerbach’s reputation as a great singer and songwriter, simultaneously augmenting what a dynamic and strong force he and Patrick Carney are when paired together. Regardless, Keep it Hid is a stellar debut, and a fine showcase of a musician who has shown he is capable of standing on his own two feet.

Keep It Hid is out now on Warner Music.