Ty Listens to "Peaches!"

As many of you may remember, I was not a fan of The Black Keys last record, "No Rain, No Flowers". I felt that it was too poppy. They went a little too hard on the production. Maybe there were too many cooks in the kitchen. I still listened to it multiple times, but it never got any better for me.

When they announced a new album was coming so soon, I was a little put off. I was worried that it was going to be more of the same. I thought that maybe they were going to take their music in a different direction and change genres. But then I heard a few tracks that they released online. It sounded more like their older stuff. I read some stuff on the internet about the pain and heartache Dan Auerbach was going through when they made this record. I guess his dad was sick and he was spending a ton of time with him while making this record. Then other people who got to hear the record earlier than others said it was like old time Black Keys. All of this got me excited and got my hopes up.

Then, last Friday the new record was released. I turned it off with low expectations and some worries. I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. This is a return to form. "Peaches!" is one of their better albums. I like it so much more than "No Rain, No Flowers". I think it is better than "El Camino" and "Turn Blue" if I'm being honest, and I really like those records. What makes "Peaches!" so good for me is that it is a straightforward rock/blues record. The songs are covers of older blues songs, with a Black Keys twinge to all of them. The record has a dirty, distorted sound that I love. Auerbach growls more than he sings, and I love that. Carney is hammering away on his drum kit like he used to. When they do have other musicians on a song they have them playing quieter than Auerbach or Carney.

This is a record that really showcases what made me first fall in love with The Black Keys. "Peaches!" reminds me of a more grown up "Chulahoma". I adored "Chulahoma" when it was first released because it was different from their other music. They were doing Junior Kimborough songs in their style. It was amazing to hear for the first time. Then, a few years ago, they released "Delta Kream" to little fanfare. I loved that album. I still love that album in fact. "Delta Kream" came out at a weird time in their career, but it felt so good to hear at the time. It scratched an itch that I needed at the time. And it still hits very well. But "Peaches!" is better than both of them in my opinion. They truly do go back to what made them so unique and interesting when they first started to release music. This has the feel of "The Big Come Up", but they have grown up and become better musicians. This album has elements of "Thickfreakness", which is my personal favorite of theirs, and one of the best records ever released. The distortion that Auerbach uses on this record is right up my alley when it comes to my musical taste. It is so loud, but you can still hear everything they're doing on the album. That is an achievement for me when listening. And Carney's drumming is top notch. The thing I like about Carney is that he has never wavered from his style. He has always gone nuts when drumming, be it live or on a record. He has always been one of the better drummers in the music biz.

I highly recommend listening to this album, especially if you enjoy old school Black Keys. This is a return to form in the best possible way. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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