The Arcs - Electrophonic Chronic (2023)

As part of his lifelong tour dusting off chunks of the past, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys has made a second album with his excellent side band The Arcs—following up 2015's Yours, Dreamily with another "neo-psychedelic soul-rock odyssey." (Though it comes after the death of drummer Richard Swift from complications of chronic alcoholism in 2018, Electrophonic Chronic was primarily recorded beforehand so that Swift is, gloriously, all over the record.) The Arcs tend to get pigeonholed as "garage rock" (that catchall for much of Auerbach's personal work), but there is so, so much more to this. Call it heresy, but it must be said that the spaced-out soul of "Heaven Is a Place" is almost Prince-like, with red-hot guitar and Auerbach hitting some deliciously nasty "oohs." "Rollin' through the clouds/ Lean back in my dove white Cadillac/ Just cruisin' slow/ Heaven is a place I know where all the lovers go," he sings. He plays old-school crooner on "Eyez," with its slow-cruising rollercoaster of bass and synth. "River" is David Ruffin-esque and layers on shimmering, tentative Hammond B3—courtesy of Leon Michels—for a dose of drama; "A Man Will Do Wrong" is Miracles-smooth with its Motown romance and harmonies. Reeking of woozy B3 and a hit of flute, "Backstage Mess" evokes doo-wop's shuffle-and-shoop. Detroit is not the only reference, as you can hear plenty of Memphis Stax soul—that extra-heart wrenching, drunk on the blues style—on "Only One for Me." Punched up by spritely glockenspiel, it's a lonely-boy love song with a twist: "I got a feeling I'm the only one for me." After all, Auerbach sings, "No one's ever made me feel much better/ Stay with me through all the stormy weather." "Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore," meanwhile, loops in haunted mellotron for its pragmatic plea for peace in the wake of a break-up: "We should take care of one another/ Not destroy each other … What are we fighting for?/ Love doesn't live here anymore." Bright and '70s laid-back "Sunshine" lives up to its name thanks to a childish "sha la la" bridge and punch-drunk horns that will crack open your heart. Offering an intriguing left turn, "Behind the Eyes" mixes vintage soul and an almost The Band shamble, proving that soulfulness is all over the place.

Tracklist
1. Keep On Dreamin' (4:27)
2. Eyez (3:41)
3. Heaven Is A Place (4:50)
4. Califone Interlude (1:16)
5. River (3:28)
6. Sunshine (2:56)
7. A Man Will Do Wrong (4:17)
8. Behind The Eyes (4:09)
9. Backstage Mess (1:47)
10. Sporting Girls Interlude (0:17)
11. Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore (3:45)
12. Only One For Me (3:56)

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