★★★★★
The Black Keys' "Delta blues goes to Michigan" sound is inherently growth-resistant. And that's a beautiful thing. But that notion was given a trial run through the wash with 2008's "Attack And Release," produced by ears du jour Danger Mouse. Come on, honestly, did anyone care about these guys taking the next step forward in their sound? The Black Keys don't need a producer--they barely even need a microphone...
- www.soundspike.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
Singer, guitarist and co-founder of the two-man blues rock outfit The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach has recorded his first solo album and, wouldn't you know it, it sounds like a Black Keys album. Or it does if The Black Keys were a full band with organ, bass and occasional programmed drums. A somewhat gentler, more soulful disc than any Black Keys offering thus far, the aching duet with the young protégée Jessica Lea Mayfield will have you pressing your repeat button all night long...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-02
★★★★★
On last year's Attack and Release, the Black Keys moved beyond their blues-rock template and produced their best album to date, so it's pleasing that guitarist Auerbach's debut solo effort assumes similarly varied hues. Once again, traditional Keys-ey stomps ("I Want Some More", "The Prowl") are balanced by effortless flirtations with psychedelia, bluegrass and soul. Meanwhile, acoustic-based ballads "Trouble Weighs a Ton" and "When the Night Comes" reveal Auerbach's inner troubadour...
- www.guardian.co.uk
2010-04-02
★★★★★
Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach is always looking over his shoulder at blues rock gone by. Spun-out psychedelia, world-weary Appalachian bluegrass and soulful blues make up his first solo album, proving that in the right hands, nostalgia can become a delicate, authentic rediscovery rather than the clunky retread that so many settle for.
- www.guardian.co.uk
2010-04-02
★★★★★
Fewer and fewer contemporary artists are making modern music with the warmth and rawness of your favourite pre-80s recordings, which is what consistently sets the Black Keys apart. Well, that and singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach's superior understanding of what makes a song work...
- nowtoronto.com
2009-11-07
★★★★★
Stepping out from behind the two-man band the Black Keys, vocalist-guitarist Dan Auerbach digs into some serious psychedelia and soulful blues on his solo debut. Playing most of the parts himself - while also serving as the album's engineer - Auerbach has made a deeply personal piece that goes into dusty corners never explored by the Keys in the band's fine five albums. His brilliant "I Want Some More" uses a Hendrixesque wall of guitars...
- www.sfgate.com
2009-11-06
★★★★★
The one thought I had while listening to the new solo album from the frontman of the blues duo The Black Keys was that it doesn't seem like Dan Auerbach is actually keeping anything "hid." Even as he tests his footing in other genres (psych, soul, country), the simple dirty blues sound that's worked so well for the Keys is ever-present with enough distortion and reverb to feed a small horse, and Auerbach's vocal delivery remains honest, compelling and immediate...
- www.filter-mag.com
2009-08-29
★★★★★
Ideally, a solo album would be to an artist as The Awakening was to Edna Pontellier - a chance for that artist to break free from the constraints imposed by those around them. Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. And, unfortunately, artists don't always use their solo work to shatter the expectations of anyone, even themselves...
- www.noripcord.com
2009-07-21
★★★★★
As the chief singer and songwriter of The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach strides progressive steps on his first album as a solo outfit. And although he is more than just half of the Keys (having written over 90% of their material,) on Keep it Hid, he showcases a varied assault of music and impressively, it all sounds remarkably well. On his main band, the Ohio native and counterpart, Patrick Carney, create ram-shackle, sludge-filled blues that sounds retro and innovative at the same time...
- www.adequacy.net
2009-07-21
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