Recorded in a breathless three-day session at the Akron studio of Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, this sophomore album by the Nashville duo is a rugged outing that lassoes spontaneity and imperfection. But under the watch of the father of the new blues, who recorded and co-produced the LP, the lightning-in-a-bottle spark is deftly guided by a hand philosophically aligned with the Heavies’ shitbucket blues aesthetic. The skeletal two-piece - comprised primarily of drums and keyboards - is beefed by a punk spirit and the full-on blare of in-the-red levels. The purposefully fried production gives the record a furious quiver, resulting in a remarkably hard sound despite a lack of guitars in their schema. Leading the charge are the arsenal of keyboards and theatrically guttural grindings of James Leg, which lend power, warmth and soul.
Besides the supple Southern soul of “Bidin’ My Time,” they’re best when they keep things ugly. Highlights include the hairy-chested swagger of the stalking rocker “Loose Yourself,” the gorgeously nasty industrial chug on their cover of Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limit,” and the rocked-out, groove-digging cover of T-Model Ford’s “Take a Ride.” Despite missteps like the David Lee Roth goofiness of “Numbers 22” and the old-tahhmey saloon jump of “Happy Hour” that indulge in too much camp, it’s a rousing album that further etches their identifiable signature of junkyard punk and blues revivalism.
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