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Auerbach's Solo Debut A Sluggish Sleepwalk

DAN AUERBACH: KEEP IT HID (NONESUCH) **

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By CURTIS ROSS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 19, 2009

Surprisingly, "Keep It Hid" was not produced by T-Bone Burnett.

Burnett, the Margaret Dumont of roots-rock, is a master at smothering any spark of excitement that might threaten to disrupt his oh-so tasteful productions. Let loose in the musical petting zoo, Burnett will have the critters stuffed and mounted.

Dan Auerbach, the singing-guitar playing half of the Black Keys, follows the Burnett template far too closely on his solo album. There are good songs and performances here, but the sluggish production blankets everything in a thick, grayish fog.

The sequencing doesn't help. "Keep It Hid" introduces itself with "Trouble Weighs a Ton," a weary ballad that struggles mightily to convey hard times but winds up merely tiresome.

"I Want Some More" follows and threatens to kick the disc into gear. But the tempo is sluggish, and the track is so carefully sculpted to sound low-fi that it's like watching Sebadoh at Madame Tussauds.

"Real Desire" is one of the few highlights, a creeping organ line weaving through a credible, if lazy, R&B groove. "When the Night Comes" starts off pretty but doesn't go anywhere. Auerbach may have been going for hypnotic but he winds up with somnambulant.

"The Prowl" can't live up to its sinister intent, although the title track and "Street Walkin'" almost do. "My Last Mistake" is an admirable, although not entirely enjoyable, attempt at a pop song.

Good taste has its places, but a rock 'n' roll album isn't one of them. Chalk "Keep It Hid" up as a half-baked experiment and hope Auerbach's next solo outing will keep some of the Black Keys' fire, regardless of what musical byway he wanders.

Download this: "Real Desire"

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