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Tongue Tied

ARTIST OF THE WEEK

Lana Del Rey

Album: El Camino

Artist: The Black Keys

Release: December 6^th, 2011

It’s seems that these days, it’s hard for rock bands to have commercially successful music, without having the longevity of say, the Foo Fighters. With a modern radio that is overrun with music from club beats to country, to think that a blues/rock duet would be able to get any radio play would be absurd; right? Well, thanks to The Black Keys new album El Camino, the concept of a band that makes you want to dance and sing along, without being devoid of crunchy guitar riffs, is not such an outrageous claim.

After receiving such commercial success with their last album, Brothers, the question on everyone’s tongues was simple; “can the Black Keys keep up this momentum?” Well, without question, they certainly have. El Camino serves as yet another amazing album in the Black Keys career. With an album full of soulful vocals, infectious hooks, catchy rhythms, and distorted guitars comparable to that of Jimmy Page and Jack White, it would seem that the Black Keys are truly on to something with such a modern adaptation of Blues and Garage rock.

The album leads off on a good, strong note with their first single Lonely Boy. It sets the stage for as a good sample for what you are about to indulge in for the next 38 minutes. Much like the rest of the songs, it’s got a catchy chorus that will have you singing along as well as innovative hooks that help individualize each track, so the album doesn’t go stale after the first few songs.

The album reaches another strong point when you hit the fourth track, Little Black Submarines. It starts off with merely a delicate acoustic guitar riff and vocals. It’s all very beautiful for about 2 minutes, when subtly, in the guise of Stairway to Heaven, a distorted guitar kicks in and the song turns in to a full blown rock ballad with the full band; easily making it one of the best tracks on the album.

I could go on and on about each individual track for quite a while, but it’s really something to be experienced first-hand to get a true feel for it. All in all, El Camino is an album that will leave any type of listener satisfied; whether you like something catchy to sing to, something groovy to dance to, or something with an old school rock feel to it; El Camino has something for most anyone.

Recommended Tracks: Lonely Boy, Gold on the Ceiling, Little Black Submarines

- Pete Radwanski