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Following the release of their seventh studio album, El Camino, The Black Keys embarked on a whirlwind tour with Arctic Monkeys, playing to swarms of fans, including two sold out shows at New York City’s prestigious Madison Square Garden.    Flashback to Thursday night – Grammy winners Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney entered the stage.  A roaring sea of fans ignited.   The Black Keys filled MSG with their explosive sound, & it was clear: the audience’s hunger for a night of blues rock revelry would be swiftly satiated.

The Black Keys opened with cult favorite “Howlin’ for You” (from Brothers, 2010) to fans’ palpable excitement.   A riveting energy radiated throughout MSG as Auerbach & Carney pummeled through an ambitious setlist with the grace of polished rock gods.  They played an exhilarating assortment of new & old tracks, at times accompanied by bassist Gus Seyffert & keyboardist John Wood.  The crowd violently applauded monster tracks from The Black Keys’ most recent albums, Brothers (“Next Girl”, “Tighten Up”) & El Camino (“Run Right Back”, “Dead And Gone”, “Gold On The Ceiling”, “Money Maker”, “Nova Baby”, “Lonely Boy”).  Auerbach’s passionate guitar riffing  & soulful, bluesy vocals combined with Carney’s fierce percussion to command absolute attention from the sold out audience – an audience whose condition was nothing but obediently & frantically entranced.  The crowd was very involved, singing along to the dynamic movements of “Little Black Submarine” (from El Camino, 2011) & the heartfelt sentiment  of “I’ll Be Your Man” (from The Big Come Up, 2002), among other songs.  Taken aback by the crowd’s insanely loud applause to “Tighten Up”, Auerbach remarked, “I feel like we’ve got the whole city in here tonight.”

A hallmark of a truly transcendent blues rock album is the absurd ease with which it hijacks the limbic system of the brain, an enterprise triumphantly undertaken in the album, El Camino, by The Black Keys.  Co-produced by Danger Mouse, one-half of the duo Gnarls Barkley, El Camino boasts 11 robust tracks, each capable of declaring temporary dominion over your emotions, and eventually, your soul.  In this album, you’ll champion the cause of a jilted lover while under the spell of what may well be considered one of the most badass soundtracks of all time for the ruefully broken-hearted.

 
It’s important to note the seemingly purposeful orchestration in the order of these songs.  Yes, the tracks are still captivating when played in shuffle mode, but are doubly effective when the album is played from start to finish.  The songs seem to work in succession to unravel the tale of a hellish romance.  While this theme is not uncommon in the realm of blues, The Black Keys exert their distinct lyrical & musical prowess to make each track unforgettable.  “Lonely Boy” & “Dead and Gone” are adrenaline-pumping openers whose emotional electric guitar & energetic percussion support agony-ridden vocals in depicting a lover experiencing an inner battle between defiance & unconditional surrender to his abusive counterpart.  In “Hell of a Season”, reflective lyrics illustrate the once helpless lover growing empowered to challenge his aggressor.  This heralds an optimism audible in the musical progression of succeeding tracks.  The change in mood is executed so subtly in the music & lyrics that it’s a pleasant surprise when illuminated into consciousness.