THE BLACK KEYS - 'MAGIC POTION'

"I liked them so much that I invited them to stay at my house". So uttered John Peel upon first stumbling across Ohio blues rock duo The Black Keys. That was back in the late 90's - fast forward to 2006, and save for the great Mr Peel sadly no longer being with us, not a lot else has changed in the world of The Black Keys as we're presented with their fourth studio album 'Magic Potion'.

Sticking to the basics they know best, and returning to their hometown basement recording studio, 'Magic Potion' is the sound of The Black Keys honing and perfecting their signature blues rock sound, whilst not losing any of their raw and powerfully stripped down energy for which they've become known.

Imagine if you will, rifling through your parents collection of old blues vinyl, immersing yourself totally in the music, before roping in a friend with a Hendrix and Led Zeppelin fixation and forming a band - a duo comprising of just guitars and drums. That is essentially the kind of thing The Black Keys are about. Its one hell of a low down, dusty, dirty sound, with blues soaked riffs and foot stompers round every corner.

Album opener 'Just Got To Be' sets out their stall early on - all fuzzy guitar chords and plodding drums, before making way for the albums first single, the sweaty attitude and gritty strut of 'Your Touch'. Quite some opening salvo. Throughout the course of the album, singer / guitarist Dan Auerbachs trademark liquor soaked blues howl is evident - sounding like a slightly demented version of Jon Spencer of the Blues Explosion. Its not all fast paced action though - they kindly allow us to catch our breath and slow things down to a steadier pace with the hypnotic ballad 'You're The One' and the slow burning groove of 'The Flame'.

As a record as a whole, this is a solid collection of songs - arguably the best of their career so far. The only downside being a few tracks towards the end of the album tend to lack focus - trailing off into forgettable territory. Cut the tracklisting by two or three tracks and you have here one fine album.

There are definite moments when comparisons to early White Stripes records can be made in abundance - although unlike the Stripes, its fair to say that the music of The Black Keys lacks the pop and mainstream sensibilities to crossover to a wider audience. But that's not what their music is all about - by sticking to their love of blues and rock they're paying their respects to their heroes, and wonderful musicians who went before them. I think Mr Peel would have approved.

7/10

Release Date: Out Now

Ian Chambers, Nov '06