2008 Woodie Awards
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Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: Out & About
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The Black Crowes
WarpaintAtlanta natives The Black Crowes' first proper release since its 2005 reincarnation straddles a vague line between giving old-school rock a facelift and just being plain derivative, leveling off somewhere in the middle. It's fresh enough to keep the momentum going throughout its 11 tracks, but in a way, you've heard it all before.
It's a stretch to say that the band's sound has changed, but it has undoubtedly improved. Now veterans of the rock 'n' roll game, vocalist Chris Robinson and guitarist brother Rich pilot a well-oiled, airtight ship that delivers its musical craft with more power and finesse than ever before, if with few surprises.
The soulful "Locust Street" offers one of the brightest moments, propelled by the organic pedal steel guitar and Chris Robinson's yearning vocal melodies. "Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution" is another highlight, with a rousing, politically-charged chorus that silences any naysayer's notion that rock is dead in the modern world.
"We Who See the Deep," meanwhile, contains the catchiest moment of the album, featuring an instantly memorable Zeppelin-esque riff, and plaintive ballads like "There's Gold in Them Hills" and "Oh Josephine" offer a glimpse of the band's sensitive side.
The Black Crowes have taken their time in creating "Warpaint," and their solid batch of songs shows this clearly. There are no missteps, no undercooked filler songs, no misguided attempts to broaden their sound - only superbly fashioned Southern-style hard rock. But the album's overall feel suggests that the band is more content to walk down its familiar blues-based road than to carve any new musical paths.
VERDICT: Exactly what you'd expect from the Crowes - but in this case, that's not really a bad thing.
- John Barrett
THE BLACK KEYS
Attack And ReleaseAttention Black Keys fans: You can take your earplugs out now. The rough and tumble Ohio duo takes the volume down a notch and the heart gets even heavier on its latest effort "Attack and Release." Save for the second track "I Got Mine," abandoned are the ultra-gritty forward-fueling aesthetics from releases passed to make way for a new kind of sound. With the unlikely coupling of local hero DJ Danger Mouse at the helm of the album's production, shreds become spooks and fury becomes funk.
The album's capstone comes in the form of "Psychotic Girl" - a modern opus to a significant other gone mad. It's an all-encompassing haunt into contemporary crazy-town featuring the rhythm and blues couplets lead singer Dan Auerbach is known for amid singular piano plunks, haunting choral accents and stalking synthesizer refrains. The Black Keys reach a certain kind of feat moving from this kind of Southern-spun slow muck to "Remember When," which resembles riffs from The Kinks' "You Really Got Me," followed by a funkified flute loop on "Same Old Thing" - a song with a breakdown that could be robbed straight from Zeppelin's "The Ocean."
The Black Keys always have had rock and rage. Now, thanks to Danger Mouse, its got superb soul. But will it make it too soft for its biggest fans to stay on board?
Verdict: Black does a new kind of blue with a "danger"ous twist that could really turn traditional fans away.
- Sami Promisloff
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