1001 Albums Summary

i never really liked the black keys for two reasons: the overplaying of lonely boy etc and the fact their signature sound just feels too samey across the songs i had heard. there was a happy place in my heart for "tighten up" bc it was on the fifa 11 soundtrack. i listened to that a lot while my brother played the ps3 and then just saved the playlist bc it was so full of fantastic indie / electric hits... but i think that nostalgia does a lot of heavy lifting. "The Only One" and "Unknown Brother" were distinct favourites. The Only sounds a lot like Jabaal by the Dur Dur Band (is it synth??idk.) The guitar riff in Unknown Brother is delicious and dirty and really reminds me of the riff in "Janitor " by Suburban Lawns. This definitely isn't, as a whole, my usual "sound," and my preexisting distaste for them has influenced my enjoyment of this album. Unfortunately, I think the things I loved most about the three songs mentioned was that they didn't sound like the black keys as they've always existed in my mind. Usually when I've up a few songs to a band I've previously find difficult to enjoy I enjoy they become a gateway into tuning into a bands particular "sound" but I get the feeling this wont be the case here (and I just don't feel curious, or interested, enough about the rest of their music to prove myself wrong.) Liking songs in spite of an artists sound isn't the greatest praise, but I will say I do appreciate the black keys more (or at least this album) than I did before. It's a lot more varied/complex than I ever gave them credit for, I would probably spin those three tracks on my own accord but I don't think I'd listen to the album again without hearing something from them that truly surprised me. 6/10

loved

didnt love as much as the last doors but still good (3.5)