By Abigail Davidson
The Arcs is everything you’ve ever wanted out of The Black Keys. You may know its membership:
-Dan Auerbach (of The Black Keys)
-Richard Swift (former member of The Shins and 2000’s indie music production icon)
-Nick Movshon (heavy hitter in the New York funk and soul revivalist movement)
-Leon Michels (of El Michels Affair, and founding member of three soul and funk bands)
-Homer Steinweiss (Influential drummer within the NY soul revivalist movement)
The Arcs’ first album in eight years, a follow up to Yours, Dreamily, lived up to expectations. I’m not sure how to describe the album, other than to tell you that it belongs on whatever playlist you put Alabama Shakes, All Them Witches, and The Raconteurs on. Somewhere between blues, and psychedelic rock, with a little bit of a garage-y undertone.
The album was released in honor of member Richard Swift and was recorded primarily before his death in 2018. It had originally been announced during their 2015 tour, but it wasn’t until 2022 that they re-announced it and released the lead single: “Keep on Dreamin’”.
“Keep on Dreamin’” is fantastic. About a minute into the record, it hooks you in. It has this interesting chorus that sets the tone for the whole album. It isn’t until the outro that you notice the whole song was building in intensity, but you were so focused on the lyricism that you have to take it in all at once.
The second single, “Sunshine” is probably my favorite off the album. It’s one of the more upbeat tracks, providing a much-needed relief squarely in the middle of a semi-moody record. Without “Sunshine”, I may not have made it all the way to “Backstage Mess”, an enjoyable instrumental towards the end of the album.
“River” benefits from the use of a Farfisa organ, a type of electric organ only produced up until the late ‘70s. The manufacturer survived to the present by producing intercom systems. It’s known for doing a particularly bad job at replicating an actual organ, versus competing brands, but its lasting presence isn’t about that. A new appreciation exists for its specific sound, which is what makes this song unique.
Another highlight of the album is “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, a ballad that gives Auerbach the chance to really show his capabilities as a lead vocalist. It’s a deceptively complicated song, as far as instrumentation goes, with a stand-out percussion track.
Overall, the album is great. I can’t quite put my finger on what genre it’s supposed to be, but whatever it is, I like it. I hope they don’t take eight years to put out a third album, although maybe it takes that long to put together something this solid.
Rated Eight out of Ten