The Arcs, led by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach on guitar and vocals, have shared their debut album, titled Yours, Dreamily. The album was recorded in 2015 over a two week period in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles. In a rare move, the credits show: "All songs written and composed by The Arcs."
Alongside Auerbach are guitarist Kenny Vaughan, bassist Nick Movshon, drummer Homer Steinweiss, saxophonist Leon Michels (who’s also the founder of Truth and Soul Records), a female mariachi band called Mariachi Flor de Toloache, and producer / multi-instrumentalist Richard Swift (who we've seen as a second drummer in live videos of The Arcs and has been touring with The Black Keys as a bassist).
There are a lot of cool tracks on this album, with great guitar sounds and interesting production. Our favorites are "Outta My Mind," "Put a Flower in Your Pocket," "Pistol," Stay in My Corner," "Cold Companion," "The Arc," "Nature's Child," "Chains Of Love," and the closer, "Searching The Blue." There's a jazzy, sleazy, dark, and mysterious vibe on "Come And Go," "Everything You Do," and the album's opening track, "Once We Begin."
Overall, Yours, Dreamily is a lot like The Black Keys' 2008 album, Attack & Release, with lots of different genres, styles, and sounds coming together to make a very unique listening experience. R&B grooves, ripping guitar parts, soft keyboards, echoed falsetto vocals, and deeply personal storytelling have become Auerbach's calling cards, painting pictures with sounds. Parts of the album sound retro, parts sound modern, and parts are unlike anything I've ever heard. It's a good listen, but the problem with the album is that many of the best songs sound like Black Keys re-treads that aren't particularly creative or exciting compared to Dan Auerbach's earlier work.
Yours, Dreamily, will be officially released on September 4, 2015 via Nonesuch Records. Get it on Amazon (Vinyl, CD, MP3). You can also stream the full album above, via Spotify
For The Arcs' latest music, news, and tour dates, check out their Zumic artist page.