Dan Auerbach, half of The Black Keys, is also the producer of the albums of Lana Del Rey and Bombino or the Gibson Brothers. He founded Easy Eye Sound in Nashville, which is both a studio and a record label.
Among his thousand and one projects, there is the group The Arcs, which in 2015 released its first album, Yours, Dreamily. The second was slow to come out. The recording had even started when Auberbach and his cronies – Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon and Leon Michels – learned of the death of Richard Swift.
If the second album Electrophonic Chronic finally allowed him to say goodbye musically, the members of The Arcs took time to feel capable of it. Either way, the result is irresistibly intoxicating with a mix of soul, blues, garage rock and psychedelic daydreams.
The song Eyez is exquisitely languorous, while the ballad A Man Will Do Wrong makes you want to go slow dancing in a tavern in Tennessee. The instrumentation is rich and exhilarating. One thinks of the bass jolts of Behind The Eyes or the vocal harmonies of sunshine. And texts go straight to the heart, including Heaven Is a Place.
At the microphone and the guitar, Auerbach is as impeccable as he is in love with his music. Rare are the rock albums that have the greatness of soul ofElectrophonic Chronic.
Rock
Electrophonic Chronic
The Arcs
Easy Eye Sound