The Twelfth Blog of Christmas: The Black Keys - El Camino (2011)

It's here -- day 12. And with 12 blogs! (Yes, I am as surprised as you are. You were correct to take the under.)

In case you were living under a rock last year, The Black Keys broke out last year the old fashioned way:  with a hit video.  (If you have not seen "Lonely Boy," consider yourself out of the loop.  And see below.)

El Camino is the most accessible album the band has ever produced -- Brian B. is a huge fan and passed along their early stuff, so I've listened to almost everything they've done.  Akron, OH's second favorite sons (sorry, you have to take a back seat to Devo, fellas) are normally a litle less slick and a little more bluesy than their latest; also, this album is the most "band-sounding" for the duo.

It's slick, sharp, and smart; it's got a killer single and a few other standouts ("Little Black Submarines," "Gold on the Ceiling," and "Mind Eraser"); so why was I not in love with this album right away?

Ironically, even though it's named after a car (and that is NOT an El Camino on the cover, for whatever reason) but it sounds terrible in the car.  I've had some serious auto issues recently, so perhaps I'm not listening in the correct environment, as on my 2.1 system on the computer this thing rocks.  It was Sell-back 1 in the car, but it's Portable CD Case here.

CD Placement Rating:  Portable CD Case.

Merry Snilchmas.  Back to hibernation.

- Snilch