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“Good Morning children, welcome to school!”
This is how “Outta My Mind”, the first single from The Arcs' album, opens, and, while it's a somewhat pretentious declaration of intent, it perfectly introduces the strengths and weaknesses of this “Yours Dreamily”. Behind the band's name lies the good Dan Auerbach, voice and guitar of The Black Keys, who in recent years seems to find the expressive space of the main band increasingly confined. In addition to a beautiful solo album from six years ago, he has dabbled in producing various artists, including jazz legend Dr. John and folk singer Ray La Montagne. But since he's a musician at heart, in the albums he produces, he often makes a personal appearance with choirs and guitars.
Undoubtedly, despite the hype that almost randomly fell on him after the Grammy win with “Brothers”, Dan is one of those versatile artists with an innate musical taste. The Arcs project seems like a continuation, or rather an expansion, of the soul funk blues spectrum explored by the aforementioned “Brothers” by The Black Keys. The mentioned single “Outta My Mind” is perhaps the most Keys-like track, but the double drumming and the organ's drone make it sound closer to hip hop than to the blues of the main band. Admittedly, in certain cases, the sweetness level rises excessively, ultimately exaggerating the soul's essence, creating a “supersoul” atmosphere that ends up touching on Barry White territories, but in falsetto (“Stay In My Corner”). Perhaps the major flaw is precisely this, namely the desire, sometimes excessive, to recreate a deep soul funk atmosphere that is a bit artificial, not so much due to the candid nature of the musicians, but because of their textbook fan enthusiasm.
But fortunately, when they get the songs right, and despite various citations, no one can compete. In “Put A Flower In My Pocket” they sound like the Beastie Boys of the funk pieces with fuzz guitar and black backing singers surrounding everything. “Pistol Made Of Bones” nails mariachi trumpet halfway between a Rodriguez film and a spaghetti western. On the more funk blues side, there's “Cold Companion”, where Dan's guitar takes center stage, or “Velvet Ditch”, which blends funk with trumpets and flutes. A couple of tracks stand out remarkably: “Nature's Child”, a nocturnal piece between trip hop, blues, and soul in perfect union; “Chains Of Love”, the track emerging from some episode of Soul Train unknown to all of Harlem's blacks.
Almost full marks.
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