#28 on the 2009 Musical Advent Calendar

As one-half of The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach drags the duo through the depths of blues rock to a place more modern than can usually be expected of the genre. And, so it is in his solo work as well. Keep It Hid slows it down a bit — critics would probably call it a “departure from their last album” — but overall this could very easily be a Black Keys record. The song shown above, “Heartbroken, In Disrepair,” is one of the more upbeat songs on the album.

Dan’s voice is very distinct. I look at that bearded face and think the kid must be lip syncing because it sure doesn’t seem like those sounds could emanate from that body. Granted, he does pipe his voice through a couple of effects in the studio, but those just seem to Tom Waits-ify his voice a bit. Otherwise, it’s all him. It’s down, dirty and mean, much like his guitar playing. And it just makes you want to stomp your foot when listening to him sing.

The album is probably going to be ranked higher on a lot of end-of-year countdowns than I have ranked it here, and I don’t have a good reason why I’ve ranked it so far down the list. The best I can come up with is that I must have been more distracted by the other top 27 to remember to pick up this one and listen to it again.

Maybe it’ll hook you a little bit more than it did me.

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29. It’s Blitz! by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
30. Beware by Bonnie “Prince” Billie
31. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear