PunchBook

Grade: B-

Why is it that when I hear the Black Keys I get the feeling that when recording their albums the band is in one room, and the microphone is across the hall? Regardless, they continue to keep dropping solid albums one after another. Attack and Release sounds a lot like previous Black Keys albums and in a lot of ways is similar to Thickfreakness. To explain their sound to people who have no idea who the hell these guys are, they are a mix between the White Stripes and CCR.

I enjoyed this album in that it sounds like the Black Keys, and I don’t like this album because it sounds just like the Black Keys. The biggest drawback is that they take the “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” approach. They reverted back to the same old winning formula and that is just fine, but it’s lacking the innovative element - which makes a “B” album an “A” album. In Same Old Thing they do bring a little different sound in, something along the lines of Ron Burgundy rocking out on jazz flute. After that the song becomes more serious as it tells a tale of a woman making the same bad choices. Mr. Burgundy comes back in the song to close it up.

Overall, the lyrics are nothing to write home about. The raw sound and piercing guitar riffs keep the listener tuned in and interested from track to track. I’ve had some pretty not nice comments about this album but it is fairly decent. I really like these guys and I was expecting then to come out and top their previous albums.

If you don’t buy this ablum, you should download So He Won’t Break, the best song on this CD by leaps and bounds.