The Black Keys' latest session, Magic Potion, is everything a fan of this band could want. Full of grungy guitars and crunchy lows, straight, hard-rocking drums and a basement-rock, all-star attitude, these guys clearly have come through again. They stand strongly by the principles of their previous albums, The Big Come Up, Thickfreakness, Rubber Factory and Chulahoma (Songs of Jim Kimbrough).
On Magic Potion, the Keys once again throw a hard fusion of blues, classic rock and '90s garage right in your face, from the first note to last, and the overall experience is, well … awesome. There is something about the band's contemporary approach to their blues/classic rock-feel that really separates them from anything you have ever heard before. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that this rock aura is done with only a guitar and drums. Along these lines, the band is surely minimalist in approach, but please don't forget that guitarist Dan Auerbach more than makes up for this with earth-shattering volume and skill. In fact, Auerbach may be the best guitarist in the alt-rock scene, whose prowess could perhaps only be matched by someone like Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. And let us not forget that drummer Patrick Carney has the pocket and feel that could only otherwise be expected of a skilled jazz musician. Nonetheless, this lethal combination of blues and hard rock is enough to get anyone singin' the blues and headbanging, perhaps at once. It's a wonderful experience, trust me.
Anyway, Magic Potion is all of this and more. They avoid redundancy and monotony while satisfying any fan of their older material. In other words, it seems their albums are indeed maturing in a few interesting ways, while managing to stay close to their roots. It is clear that the Keys are making progress both in terms of song structure and lyrical content. From the first track, "Just Got To Be," we hear the same basement party rock full of loud riffs and crashing symbols.
However, on this track there are seemingly awkward time signature superimpositions that are not characteristic of this straight-rocking 4/4 duo. Regardless, Auerbach and Carney seem to somehow avoid truly awkward stumbling on this track and instead deliver something fresh and new that still tastes like the Keys of old. In other words, it's clear that this band has found their pocket and is now comfortable with exploring their boundaries.
After the opener, the Keys return with "Your Touch", "You're The One" and "Just A Little Heat," all of which rock hard and sound like the Keys always have. Even the ballad-like "You're The One" sounds like something right out of Rubber Factory. The only difference here is that the group's entire sound rings of a new maturity. They are louder, they present more complex compositions and Auerbach's lyrics are more love-oriented than ever, perhaps as another nod to their roots blues influences.
At times, this newfound maturity leads to a bit of a left turn for the Keys, perhaps best exemplified by the track "Strange Desire," which certainly does not sound like anything the band has previously recorded. Yet, once again, this change seems to be a step in the right direction, as I cannot help but nod my head every time I hear it. And that is all the Keys are really after, anyway.
Tracks like "Give Your Heart Away" and "Just A Little Heat" sound like Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath guitar riffs tweaked for a more modern and dirty approach, and "Goodbye Babylon" is probably the epitome of the band's paradoxical "maturing by staying true to your roots" feel on Magic Potion. There are moments on these tracks of pure classic rock genius, and the Keys certainly know this. That is exactly why they are confident throughout the album in exploring new ways to present their mastery of the garage rock blues.
While it's great to see a band successfully mature sonically and lyrically, it's even greater to know that this Akron, Ohio-based duo is not full of themselves. They don't need a rock opera DVD entitled something like American Idiot in order to prove to the music community that they are progressing musically.
Along those lines, in the midst of bands like the Appleseed Cast and this so-called Midwestern post-rock scene, it's refreshing to finally hear a band rock from start to finish without any of the emo attitude. It's a straightforward, no-fluff approach that makes the Keys the ultimate garage band. In fact, I would call them the best garage band in a long, long time. They are exactly what the college music scene should always be about: Midwestern boys drinking beer and playing loud, bluesy music at a crowded party in a basement.
Magic Potion is a beautiful snapshot of what The Black Keys have always been about, and, as if that is not enough, the boys give us something new to chew on: Bigger sound, more complex songs and lyrical maturation.
Grade: 4 out of 5
