Fresh Listening
August 25th, 2011
Looking for something to listen to? A couple of offerings, if not exactly new spring to mind, as both are good for entirely different reasons.
The Black Keys deliver raw blues reminiscent of early Johnny Winter with melodic twists of the earliest Fleetwood Mac or Kim Simmons. Two guys, drums and guitar, using low-fi recording techniques take you to their realm. Rumour has it the first couple of albums were done on a four-track in a garage; later stuff adds instruments (the luxury of a bass), and augmenting players. You might want to listen chronologically from 2002’s “The Big Come Up” to check the progression to the recent “Brothers” with plenty between, including live recordings. In a word, raw...
At the other end of the spectrum, England’s “Elbow” may impress you as clever, evasively simple British pop, tastefully arranged and all, with featured vocalist Guy Garvey laying out melodies like Sting’s kid brother. But put an ear to the lyrics, and suddenly you’re in The Zone: Full novels of murder, returning to a hometown of one’s youth to find it irrevocably built over; unusual topics for rock lyrics. Yet so tastefully done it surprises. Recommnded first listens: “One Day Like This” and “Grounds for Divorce”, hooks that hook you.
These two bands show there’s creativity yet in the pop music art form.
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