THE BLACK KEYS
The Big Come Up (Alive Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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OK, so I'm a little behind the curve. Everybody (else) that matters has already told you that this debut album from Akron, Ohio's The Black Keys is the real deal. You've probably already got their Fat Possum followup, Thickfreakness, on permanent replay. Just in case you somehow avoided the massive buzz that greeted The Big Come Up, though, let me add my pitch before this indie gem gets lost in the band's almost certain to be massively successful catalog to come.

If there's a 21st Century analog to the Mississippi Delta that spawned the blues of the last century, it might as well be the Rust Belt. As sources of despair go, a closed factory is pretty much as good as a fading plantation. As ways to get over on that kind of despair go, nothing beats the blues, and this hard-ass, low-fi, fired-up duo make the kind of music that will get you over on any kind of despair you have on hand. It is, as the young folks say, the shit. So get the new one (I'm sure gonna) and all the ones that come after, but don't forget to get this one. Once you do, you won't forget to play it, I promise.

Track List:

Busted * Do The Rump * I'll Be Your Man * Countdown * The Breaks * Run Me Down * Leavin' Trunk * Heavy Soul * She Said, She Said * Them Eyes * Yearnin' * Brooklyn Bound * 240 Years Before Your Time

© 2003 - Shaun Dale