With the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach brought blues to the mainstream. On his solo project, Auerbach brings the mainstream to blues. That does not suggest that the Black Keys were the first blues band to have an impact on the mainstream, nor does it suggest that Keep it Hid is the beacon of blues folk. Rather, it signifies a new focus.
In the Black Keys, Auerbach used more hooks and guitar explosions aimed to lure a wider fan base and rock harder. But on Keep it Hid, Auerbach is stripped of the Black Keys moniker, allowing him more freedom to keep it real.
Auerbach really benefits from the increased rhythm section. The bass is most prominent on songs like I Want Some More"" and ""My Last Mistake"", taking the tracks to heights that could not be achieved without the solid backing noise, which provides a sturdy base for the songs and allows Auerbach more freedom to explore the neck of his guitar.
For the most part, Keep it Hid is less blues rock than it is blues folk, better aligning Auerbach with artists like Jim James and Jack White than the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
Keep it Hid's standout tracks are the ones with the least accompaniment. Stripped down to acoustic guitar, ""Trouble Weighs a Ton,"" ""When the Night Comes"" and ""Goin' Home"" are the strongest songs on the album. They show Auerbach at his most honest, paying homage to the folk legends that serve as the real base for his unique strain of blues rock.
On songs such as ""Real Desire"", Auerbach supplements his guitar with an organ, which gives a nod to his somewhat southern upbringing (Akron, Ohio), where his music shows clear lineage to artists like Muddy Waters and Ray Charles.
There are still obvious traces of the Black Keys present. ""Heartbroken, In Disrepair"" is no more than a toned-down Black Keys track with vocal harmonies, but the harmonies are unnecessary at best. It is the one sore thumb that shows Auerbach overindulging in his expanded resources.
Auerbach actually does well in minimizing his indulgences. Songs like ""Whispered Words"" and ""Real Desire"" are sparse arrangements that highlight his songwriting abilities.
Keep it Hid is about what anyone should expect from Dan Auerbach. It is another solid contribution from one of America's most legitimate blues-rock icons. It's not a resurgence of southern rock, but there's nothing that is going to scare away any Black Keys fans either. He's shown a more reserved side of himself before, and Keep it Hid, if nothing else, allows him the opportunity to explore and perfect the style he gave listeners a glimpse of on songs like Rubber Factory's ""The Lengths.""
Whether Auerbach plans to keep the two sounds as separate entities or integrate the two in the future remains to be seen, but Keep it Hid assures us that, no matter what Auerbach chooses to do, it's going to be awesome.
