Something Else! sneak peek: The Black Keys, "Lonely Boy" (2011)

The Black Keys return with a grimy, fast-moving rock number that gasses up the deep-blues atmosphere of their breakout release Brothers.

“Lonely Boy,” from the duo’s forthcoming Dec. 6 release El Camino, is all distortion and thwacking rhythm — the sound of a rod-throwing drag race, with a guitar signature that rattles, groans and grinds. This crashing immediacy is all the more jarring for anyone looking for a redo of “Tighten Up” or “Howling For You,” a pair of Grammy-winning, R&B-inflected numbers that helped Brothers to gold record status in 2010.

Instead, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney returned to the studio with producer Danger Mouse — but also a different sound in mind. Eschewing last year’s blaxploitation grooves and ghostly new Curtis Mayfield-esque vocals, “Lonely Boys” instead boasts the brash attitude, the serrated riffs and sing-along hooks of a great lost side by the Clash.

The Black Keys’ Brothers was one of Something Else! Reviews’ most decorated releases of 2010, receiving notice from four of our writers — S. Victor Aaron, Mark Saleski, Tom Johnson and, of course, yours truly — and then, perhaps inevitably, appearing on our composite album of the year list.

[amazon_enhanced asin=”B005ZWA0GC” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B003LXSY60″ container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B002QQ8H8I” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B001661RC2″ container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”B001BLRPCS” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /]

• Author
• Recent Posts

Nick DeRiso

Nick DeRiso has written for USA Today, American Songwriter, All About Jazz, and a host of others. Honored as columnist of the year five times by the Associated Press, Louisiana Press Association and Louisiana Sports Writers Association, he oversaw a daily section named Top 10 in the U.S. by the AP before co-founding Something Else! Nick is now assistant managing editor with Townsqaure Media. Listen to NICKRADIO here: bit.ly/NICKRADIO.

Latest posts by Nick DeRiso (see all)

• How Deep Cuts on ‘Music From Big Pink’ Underscore the Band’s Triumph - July 31, 2023
• How ‘Islands’ Signaled the Sad End of the Band’s Five-Man Edition - March 15, 2022
• The Band’s ‘Christmas Must Be Tonight’ Remains an Unjustly Overlooked Holiday Classic - December 25, 2016

You May Also Like:

Why the Black Keys’ ‘El Camino’ Was More Continuation Than Breakthrough The Black Keys Hit Upon the Right Rootsy Mix With ‘Brothers’ The Black Keys Pushed Forward Without Losing Their Way on ‘Turn Blue’