MP3: Dan Auerbach - My Last Mistake
The very existence of "Keep It Hid" asks two big questions of it's author Dan Auerbach: are these songs different from his main outfit the Black Keys and are they necessary? The answers that are audibly given say it's okay to take a sigh of relief.
"Keep It Hid" is chock full of special songs for your mixtape or pocket that could have been fermenting for years or maybe a month before putting these down in the studio. There is much soul, honesty and passion in songs like "Trouble Weighs A Ton", "Real Desire" and single "My Last Mistake" and I can appreciate and even envy a slight bit that Auerbach made this entirely by himself. The advantage is in the fact that he's been making records with his band for years, so this sounds less like a debut and more like a consistent gift to his fans new & old.
That said, there are a couple of songs, like "The Prowl" that sound like a Black Keys b-side, but you really can't fault a songwriter for sounding like himself, can you? Again, this record is near completely it's own thing: I've seen other reviewers say otherwise, but I think that's rubbish.
But judge for yourself... if you dug Auerbach's day job, you're going to love it. If not, give it a shot anyway, I think you'll be quite pleased with the results.
"Keep It Hid" is out now from Nonesuch.
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Check out this real cool video of him playing "Trouble Weighs A Ton" here and (while it lasts) a sweet performance of "My Last Mistake" on Conan here.
Tourtastic:
Feb 28 - 9:30 Club - Washington DC, Washington DC
Mar 1 - Paradise Club - Boston, Massachusetts
Mar 2 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, New York
Mar 3 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, New York
Mar 5 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 6 - Metro - Chicago, Illinois
Mar 7 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 10 - The Showbox - Seattle, Washington
Mar 11 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, Oregon
Mar 13 - Bimbo’s - San Francisco, California
Mar 14 - El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, California
