re: So how is the new The Black Keys album?

Have you listened to the new record? There's lots of guitar on it.

It's not like they are striving to make commercialized 3 minute pop songs. The first song on the record is 6+ minutes and it's pretty spacey. So is a lot of the record. Big danger mouse influence on it which seems to be what they are into these days.

I don't want to hear brothers pt 2 or el camino pt 2

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That raw sound is what made their name but once everyone began to like them they included more and more pop elements with each album: Brothers, El Camino, Turn Blue. It actually first started with Attack & Release but it got ridiculous after that.

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While I certainly prefer the raw sound of the Big Come Up or Thickfreakness, the turn towards more pop elements actually started with Magic Potion, which is also before they were anything more than an another indie band. If anything, their most pop album is Attack and Release (which I didn't like at all).

And while they used to sound like they were recorded in a (rubber) factory and reveled in their minimalism, they've always had plenty of pop hooks. Hell, they covered the Beatles on their first record. They've always been a pop band. a dirty pop band through miles of distortion, but pop nonetheless.

Haven't heard the new record, but I did enjoy their recent stuff once they stepped back from Attack and Release levels of sampling. Saw them on Colbert... not sure how I feel about them being a full band. But you can't be two guys in a garage forever.

Finally got the new CD. It's amazing front to back. The first song (weight of love) is immediately one of my top favorite Black Keys songs. It's alot more slow an spacey rock. With some good experimentation on it. If you are a big fan of the grunge rock blues sound from their early albums you might not like it, but it all depends on your taste. I like it alot.