Performer Notes

The Black Keys: Dan Auerbach (vocals, guitar); Patrick Carney (drums).
Principally recorded at Studio 45, Akron, Ohio.
While the vast majority of post-punk bands who have an obvious taste for the blues seem to enjoy taking the style apart and messing around with the bits and pieces, the Black Keys are the (relative) traditionalists within the subgenre. With their two-piece, no-bass format, there's no room for clutter or wank, and the raunchy fuzz of Dan Auerbach's guitar (and drummer Patrick Carney's production) owes more to the Gories/Blues Explosion/White Stripes school of aural grime than anything else, but look past all that and the Black Keys are a straight-up blues band who could probably cut an album for Alligator if they were willing to clean up their act and fill out the lineup. And Alligator would doubtless be glad to have 'em -- the Black Keys's wail is hot, primal, and heartfelt, and Auerback's lean but meaty guitar lines and room-filling vocals drag the blues into the 21st century through sheer force of will without sounding like these guys are in any way mocking their influences. In short, if you're looking for irony, you're out of luck; if you want to hear a rock band confront the blues with soul, muscle, and respect, then Thickfreakness is right up your alley. Points added for the fact that the Black Keys performed, recorded, and produced Thickfreakness all by their lonesome in a single day -- further proof these guys are not messing around. ~ Mark Deming

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (4/17/03, p.103) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Ohio's Black Keys specialize in a sort of garage blues--abbreviated gasps of vocal hurt, feedback-y guitar and unhinged snares..."

Q (01/01/04, p.76) - Ranked #31 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums of 2003" - "[A] sweaty, thrilling delight, with songs dipped in tar..."

Mojo (Publisher) (01/01/04, p.56) - Ranked #40 in Mojo's "The Best of 2003" - "Like Free jamming with Jon Spencer, this is a gnarled, righteous triumph."

Fishpond works with suppliers all over the world to bring you a huge selection of products, really great prices, and delivery included on over 25 million products that we sell. We do our best every day to make Fishpond an awesome place for customers to shop and get what they want — all at the best prices online.

About Fishpond

You can earn a 8% commission by selling Thickfreakness on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep! You should start right now!

Are you the Author or Publisher of a book? Or the manufacturer of one of the millions of products that we sell. You can improve sales and grow your revenue by submitting additional information on this title. The better the information we have about a product, the more we will sell!

Submit Information