Keep It Hid

I highly recommend the debut solo album by Black Keys singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach. It's a very solid and surprisingly diverse collection of songs and you instantly get the impression that the Bach is loving the freedom of not doing a Black Keys album (not that there's anything wrong with that) . Keep It Hid opens with the gospel-tinged 'Trouble Weighs A Ton' and followed by the rocking 'I Want Some More', you have to wonder where on earth this album is taking you. The tracks draw their influence from various genres, including country, gospel, and 70s rock; but it's clear that Dan Auerbach has a genuine love for blues music. If this all sounds a bit 'adult contemporary', like something Ray Lamontagne would release - fear not! There's enough fuzzy, dirty guitar and psychedelic moments to steer this album well out of the path of bland, flavour of the month mediocrity. There's enough Black Keyishness (goodness me, what a painful description) to please fans of that band but not too much to make this project a pointless exercise.

The Bach has an awesome voice; so textured, whatever that means. Also, at times (especially in the Black Keys), he sounds like he's singing into a tin can, but in a good way. Apparently some of the lyrics for this album were written by his dad, although there's nothing in the liner notes that confirms it (EDIT: Yes there is! 'Whispered Words' by Charles Auerbach). Keep It Hid should not be kept hidden but... made visible? Kept in the clear? Whatever, just give it a listen.