Dan Auerbach
Keep It Hid
Nonesuch Records
By George W. Harris

Here’s a release that I just couldn’t figure out. Taking a hiatus from The Black Keys group which he co-founded, leather voiced/guitarist Dan Auerbach has put out a solo disc that swings like a pendulum between earthy and soulful acoustic tunes like “Trouble Weighs A Ton” and jarring electric things like “I Want Some More.” The mood of most of the songs are a bit desolate, ranging from semi-despair (“My Last Mistake”) to desperation (“Street Walkin’”). Hmmm, do I really want to get this depressed? In the lp days, it could have been divided to one side acoustic and the other amplified to keep a mood. As it stands, be ready to play around with your ipod.