Vinyl of the Week - 7 June 2020

Let’s Rock, The Black Keys

This week we take a look at an album from a more contemporary band. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, who had known each other since they were 8 years old, dropped out of college and formed The Black Keys in 2001. Dan had been trying to make a living playing guitar but realised he needed to record a demo. Patrick had a recording console and drums set up in his basement and agreed to let Dan record a demo there. On the day of the recording the backing musicians didn’t show so Dan and Patrick jammed instead. They ended up recorded some blues covers and sent them to a handful of record labels, securing a deal with the small indie label ‘Alive’ (the only label that would sign them without seeing them play). ‘Let’s Rock’ is the most recent of their nine studio albums, released in 2019 after a five year hiatus. I personally like this album the most out of all their work and it’s hard to pick a favourite track because they’re all so good. The cover art and title is actually a reference to the last words of convicted murderer Edmund Zagorski who when asked if he had any final words before being executed simply said “Let’s Rock”. A great album with a pretty cool story that also looks awesome on the wall. One to play loud - DS