Dan Auerbach: Keep It Hid

Label: Nonesuch

We aim to be useful here, so first things first: Yes, if you are a Black Keys true believer, there’s no reason to read any further—Keep It Hid, the first solo effort from the Keys’ singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach, swings hard and moans deeply, and you do need it. Auerbach is like Will Oldham in that he has no such thing as downtime; when he isn’t doing something else (like, touring with the Black Keys) he’s writing, recording and/or just plain living music. He’s admitted that for Keep It Hid he didn’t want to try too hard not to sound like his band (and most of these 14 songs feature full-band arrangements), which is why it’s an easy recommendation. As with the Keys, Auerbach, alternately tender and howling, uses a widescreen love of the blues as his jumping-off point for these ruminations on desire, pain and all the messed-up and loving things we do to each other and ourselves—right, wrong and worse. If you aren’t yet a Black Keys fan, this ain’t such a bad place to start, either. (M.L. Thrope)