Jack Brogan looks back at an unappreciated gem from the back catalogue of The Black Keys
The Black Keys are one of my favourite bands. I have a fondness for blues, people like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters are amazing influential artists, both for blues and from that, rock. Everyone who knows me, knows I’m devoted to indie rock stuff but there is this adoration for a heavier sound sometimes. Not heavy metal or any of that, but just really nice and heavy guitar and drums. That, to me, was The Black Keys - rock, blues, heavy, gritty. This dirty garage blues sound was one of my favourites, with the Big Come Up and Brothers satisfying my thirst for loud rock. It amazed me that two lads could make so much noise. Now with great success from Brothers and El Camino, the American duo are much more established and supported in their shows and in the studio. Their latest album Let's Rock is like a tidied and better produced version of Brothers and El Camino, returning the blues rockers to the forefront of their style. I’m not gonna focus on any of these albums however, instead I want to delve into the 2014, surprise of a Black Keys record – Turn Blue.
Turn Blue is one of my all-time top albums. Definitely in the top three. I don’t think a week goes by where I haven’t listened to this in some capacity. It’s a very different sound for the Ohio boys. It sustains their blues influence and incorporates rock throughout but you can tell this is gonna be something out of the ordinary just from the album art - a swirling blue and pink vortex. This gritty cover art that blessed all their other albums had been abandoned for something weirdly hypnotic and colourful? What was this change?
Let’s go through this track by track, as I believe it should be listened to for maximum impact.
You first set off on your journey with a very pleasant acoustic and swirly organ combination. This idea of hypnotising is stuck in my head as the way to describe the aura of this album. A pleasant introduction of keys and heavy yet subtle drums starts to set this song in place as Auerbach’s guitar feedback builds. His guitar tone enters with a lovely thoughtful solo, that really entrances you. His tone here has been carefully crafted. It maintains that blues crunch he adores but has been enveloped in a soft phase and wah. It gives it this sort of ethereal, crying weep sound with a glimmer of hope. The solo falls off into a very pleasant grooving bassline, before Auerbach enters his vocals. I’ve gone into so much detail here about the intro to 'Weight of Love' because it is just so wonderfully crafted. Each change rides you into feelings of mellow sadness and glimmers of hope. I think it cries emotion. The whole song emphasises not falling down into this sadness that comes with heart breaking. You’ve got to carry on, like Auerbach was doing. At the time he was going through a divorce whilst touring El Camino and, of course, writing this beautiful record. I feel these emotions Dan Auerbach was feeling at the time of this record. He feels pushed, right to the brink of life itself, to a point where everything seems bleak. He has turned here the idea of love into something that brings you so far down and you can’t give into it. This is why I get the sense of weeping as opposed to crying, as if he’s so tired he can’t complete the full emotional reaction.
'Weight of Love' really enforces that this album is going to be dark, a more mellow dark than previous albums. These colours of blue and pink actually carry pain as opposed to a new brightness from the Black Keys. This follows into 'In Time'. This song is acceptance of the future. Auerbach is angry right now, at the people around him causing this trouble but he shows an acceptance that in the future this relationship he had was going to end. This is carried into 'Turn Blue', the title track. There is a really sinister undertone provided by the bass, a dirty, heavy bass line that’s ever present under a quite pleasant guitar tone and shuffly drumbeat is a representation of the imagery that Auerbach is trying to create. The image of hell below. This song to me speaks bout remembrance of the good times he had, but once he’s past all that and settles at night when "the lights are low" he fills this pull into sadness. The song ends with this bass line on repeat with a swirling black hole of a synth sound like you’re being dragged down.
Then, a change, 'Fever'. A more quietly aggressive song, I believe. The idea of a fever is interesting here, this like ill heat that consumes you, you have no control over it. This is how he is now comparing his ex-wife – to a symptom he is bound to and can’t get rid of, expressing how she had so much control and he didn’t. This song is a masterpiece though, the driving drums from Carney on this track really carries the riff. It is an absolute sing along tune. It feels like you are breaking fee from any of these emotions you are having much like Dan was, especially with the bombastic drums and solo at the end. 'Fever' is only the beginning of this driving change, however. 'Year in Review' keeps up the newfound rhythm. This reflective song struggles with reminiscing on the decisions of the past and knowing about the other side in the present. The consistent drums to me show this resistance to knowing more about his ex-wife, like he’s trying to break through this line that’ll pour out negative emotions. 'Bullet in the Brain' is a clever combination of a crying chorus with a moving and building verse structure. It has reference to his ex-wife’s suicide attempts and reflects on knowing the signs of a failed marriage were there, but he didn’t acknowledge them at the time. There’s a lot of heart in this song.
Now we come into contact with what is, at this time of writing, my favourite song on this album - 'It’s Up to You Now'. Blustering drums blow out your speakers, matched by an equally pulsating and sullied guitar tone that really fulfils the heavy side of the Keys. The song seems kind of like an attack, although it appears as if Auerbach is saying you can do what you want now we aren’t together, the lyric "you smoke cigarettes and you act like a clown if you want" suggesting that the person has is doing such ridiculous things to be seen as something better off when really they are now in a much worse place. The massive blues solo that enters halfway through with the complete change in the song really hits though. There is no holding back from making this guitar wail. Each note carries emotion.
The record is now on its descent after 'It’s Up to You Now', taking a more mellow take to the sound the Black keys are trying to achieve. 'Waiting On Words' is stripped down, with minimal instruments contributing to the sound. It’s really raw. A falsetto voice over pleasantly strummed chords really evokes a clear sad atmosphere in a more kind of peaceful way, however. The drums and keyboard do build in and make the song much more complete, but it’s clear the boys saw this song in its most raw form as it’s best version. '10 Lovers' really abuses the more electronic sound of this album, however, to its full potential. A strong bass and drum combination underline a vibrating synth lead. There is a subtle acoustic guitar in there, which really blends in nicely to the rest of the sound. The melody on this track is one of my favourites, jumping between a strong voice but then breaking into falsetto really sells to me the feeling in this song. Best played loud in your headphones I believe.
'In Our Prime'. 'In Our Prime'. 'In Our Prime'. I honestly never get enough of this song. Each change and development is so beautifully constructed and really resonates with me on another level. It is an absolute perfect amalgamation of blues guitar both clean and dirty in tone, slow and driving drums, beautiful organ and piano pieces, solos, progression, breaks and pauses and melody and lyrics. I can’t praise it enough. When it enters with its slow yet hauntingly beautiful piano you are transported to this dream like state. Cue the drums and then the gorgeous solo. The perfect balance on the edge of a crunch, but clean in its essence. The verse really brings you to a place of tranquil sorrow, played out by soft cushioning piano and piercingly pleasurable melody. This then changes into a more up tempo second verse, building up to something rather spectacular as it feels, like hanging all your feelings right on the edge ready to let them go. Then the second break comes, followed by an alluring, illuminating organ solo. The chorus comes back in, with crashing drums really belting out the emotion, and when it’s all out a falling, descending keyboard and guitar chaos ensues before you hit the ending section. That low and dirty guitar brings this descended sorrow back in, with slowed drums and bass underneath. As the song slowly fades, the solo just keeps going like there’s not enough time to let out all these feelings. This song really always connects to me every time I listen. I think it’s the most beautiful on the album.
After all this building sadness and wallowing and reminiscing, Auerbach seems to want to change his tune. The upbeat sound of the outro song 'Gotta Get Away' is a short, 3-minute banger that the title describes perfectly the meaning. Auerbach has to just get away from this girl, away from all this sadness and idea that he’s stuck. The pleasant tenor really suggests that he has said right, let’s just get going again, as if he just needs to stay positive and enjoy life now rather than focusing on all this. This tone really sets up the record Let’s Rock and it’s more overall, I think pleasant blues, as if he’s just enjoying playing his hard rock blues again. It is a pleasant way to round of this majestic album.
It leaves you with a sense of hope and happiness, even though you’ve experienced sadness.
Jack Brogan
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