poppedmusic

The Black Keys – Lo/Hi

Words: Megan Berridge

The Black Keys are quintessentially the hot dads of rock ‘n’ roll. Despite having had a five year hiatus, the motley duo is back with another leather-clad and unmistakably Black Keys Earth-shaker, ‘Lo/Hi’.

Fierce and jagged around the edges, the opening guitar riff jilts the romantic frolics of ‘Turn Blue’ for foot-tapping, heart string-snapping swaggers on the pentatonic scale. Ticking away, like the watch or your wrist, behind this exterior of sass is a simple tickling of the drums.

A distant voice shouts “Woo!” and I shout back “Yeah!” instinctively…Only in my head though. I don’t think the other passengers on the train would appreciate this enthusiastic holler without context. If you know, you know.

“Out on a limb in the wind of a hurricane” Dan sings, slurping me up in the whirlwind that is his ageless voice. It’s timelessly sexy. I’ve fallen in love again. The low, low guitar continues parading underneath in a way that resembles a peacock boasting its plumage.

The chorus is painfully catchy. After going round once, I already know what to sing back into my hairbrush later. In an attempt to be unorthodox, many other resonant voices sing the chorus back in a gospel fashion —  a subtle stylistic charm!

The song draws to a close with a dissonant, squealing guitar solo, leading back into another couple of times round the chorus.

For a couple of for a couple of rock ‘n’ roll fathers, it’s pretty decent.

Listen to Lo/Hi below: