The Black Keys: Attack & Release

This was the album I was anticipating the most for this year. I thoroughly enjoyed their work previous to this, so I had high expectations for the album.The album starts off with a slow ballad, "All You Ever Wanted," which is folky, and at the end gets into unfamiliar territory for the band (Studio additions and deep bass.) This track sets the tone for the whole album, and leads into the next track, "I Got Mine." The second track is a hard hitting blues riff, similar to some of their riffs on other albums, but with a nice deep bass line echoing Dan's guitar. In the middle the psychedelic aspect of their music is amplified by Danger Mouse's mixing. The next two tracks follow a similar theme to "I Got Mine," but each has their own feel to it. "Lies," is a slower sadder blues song, where Danger Mouse, once again amplifies the feeling of the song with extra instrumentation. The album goes again to slow with Side A of "Remember When," and then kicks right back in with Side B, and continues to hit hard for the next three songs. It ends with "Things Ain't How They Used to Be," which returns to folk, and features a nice duet with Jessica Lea Mayfield. This serves the dual purpose of Ending the "Strange Times," and offering a smooth transition into repeating the album if you wanted to. This album is great to groove out to, like Magic Potion, only a little more laid back.I thought Danger Mouse's influence on the album was actually beneficial, but it took a few listens to get used to. I mean, the flute on "Same Old Thing" is completely unexpected. It also gives the album a smoother, finished feel than the rough and antique sounds of the previous albums. I'm not sure whether all this is good or bad, because I liked the fact that these two guys were doing everything themselves, mixing, producing, replicating the sound live. I'm just not sure that they can replicate this live without bringing in help, or overdubbing.