If there’s one certain thing in these uncertain times, it’s that that the grieving process is an entirely non-linear and subjective one. For Dan Auerbach news of his father’s cancer diagnosis took him away from the sometimes banality of the write-record-tour cycle that is the professional musician’s to wear; instinctively his longstanding creative partner in The Black Keys Patrick Carney knew that the best form of catharsis would be found by getting in the studio.
These sessions followed on the heels of previous record No Rain, No Flowers, but if that was a pronounced softening of the edges shown on the likes of Brothers and El Camino, it’s successor returns to the covers-only format last heard on 2021’s Delta Kream. Recorded more or less as live and with minimal overdubs, the results are delightfully raw and lo-fi, complementing a host of crate digging song choices.
At it’s best, Peaches! distills the pair’s essence via their feet-first treatment of garage blues, reminding listeners how they managed to reinvent it as a vital, twenty first century thing. To this end they also avoid the orthodox, with seven minute closer Nobody But You Baby long on psychedelic flourishes, whilst their take on Dr.Feelgood’s She Does It Right bristles with spice and heat. The standouts though come here with a grand rendition of R.L. Burnside’s Fireman Ring The Bell, then peak with a thunderous, near street punk tempo makeover for George Thorogood’s You Got to Lose, the latter a Keys classic in the making.
Catharsis comes in a million different shapes; in the case of Peaches! it’s trying to forget by making wonderful things.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 