[rayword45]

Day 21: Thickfreakness by The Black Keys (Album Choice: Phillip S)

Even though I didn't write a review yesterday I do have yesterday's pledge log saved.

Day 6 of the pledge: It's not getting any easier. It's not really getting any harder either. The difficulty level remains static. Today I told a few people I've lasted 6 days thus far. They react with shock and a few people straight up don't believe.

And now for today

Day 7 of the pledge: I inhaled far too many lead fumes and far too many smelly people fumes to give a single shit about this pledge today. Easiest day yet.

Okay so to move on to the music, I have a headache but it's mild so I'm not expecting any cures. To expect that out of this band would be stupid, because they're garage/blues rock, which hopefully ISN'T relaxing. The few songs I've heard from this band (AKA the radio hits) I didn't care for much but many people tell me that their earlier stuff is much better, and would appeal to someone like me (since I dig a lot of lo-fi stuff). I also got plenty of comments along the ranges of "They're okay but really not worth your time" which caused me to not so much put it off rather than completely ignore it. Furthering that decision is the fact that they have no bassist. Bands with no bass range from awesome (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Doors) to good (Japandroids) to so horribly hit-and-miss that I just ignore the band altogether (Hella, Beat Happening, and yes, The White Stripes), most bands seem to fall in the last category. Bands with no guitar on the other hand seem to consistently kick ass (Big Business, Lightning Bolt, Morphine, Om) which makes me think that having no bass is a serious detriment. Oh well whatever let's just get this done so I can sleep.

Well, this is certainly far removed from the radio hits of long ago (AKA a couple of years ago). This isn't exactly my idea of usual "lo-fi" but it is certainly raw and unproduced. Unlike the radio hits, there's no professional studio sound, no keyboards, no backing vocals, and very little on the low end (Was there bass on the radio hits? I swear I remember some songs having bass lines. Could just be my stupid memory, or this lead in my brain). No, this very much sounds like two dudes recording their songs in their basement. It also sounds like the guitarist listened to a lot of his dad's old blues rock records. That's a good thing since he can make a catchy riff or two with his guitar. It's also a bad thing, because the vocals are the stupidest "hey I'm a young white guy trying to sound like I'm a blues man from the 40s so I'll use a gruff voice that makes everything I sing unintelligible" vocals I've heard in a long time. It's not so much annoying as it is laughable, but it does certainly detract from the music.

Well, uh, that certainly went by faster than I expected. Is that a good thing? I don't know. Either way, this ranks among the Japandroids-tier of how good a bassless band is. Not bad, though I can't see myself listening to this very often. And those vocals are so dreadfully stupid. Okay I'm done time for bed.

Best Track: You know, I might be rating this too high because I honestly can not list one song. They blend together and are for the most part interchangeable.
Rating: 6/10