The Arcs- Electrophonic Chronic
Label: Easy Eye
Producers: Dan Auerbach and Leon Michels
The Arcs first arrived in 2015 as a side-project of The Black Keys’ vocalist and guitarist, Dan Auerbach that explored an adventurous and psychedelic realm of blues and garage rock. In the years that followed their debut, Yours Dreamily, sessions commenced for a second album, which saw its release plans stalled by the 2018 death of percussionist Richard Swift, until now. Auerbach and company have been forthright in acknowledgement that the long-awaited release of Electronic Chronic is purely intended as both a tribute to the late Swift, as well as the final record in the band’s discography, which requires the appreciation of this record to be made with all the more immediacy. Much like its predecessor, the record is a full-bodied and all-consuming trip through the essence of psychedelia, garage rock and the blues. However, it chooses far different approaches and corners of these arenas than what we’re accustomed to on a standard Black Keys album, which in turn allows us to explore different shades of Auerbach’s fascinating voice, ranging from the gnarly fog of “Eyez” to the stunningly soulful and emotive collision of soul and electronica that is “Heaven Is A Place”. Meanwhile, tracks like “Sunshine” creatively meld sunny piano pop with rapturously and ominously trippy soul, while “Behind The Eyes” is a thunderously show-stopping display of the guttural power that lives within the deepest, darkest corners of Auerbach’s range. It’s a damn shame that the shelf-life of this project will prove to be so short, as this second record further emphasizes how much more than a simple side-project The Arcs really had the potential to become. This is the sound of a uniquely talented rock group, with an expansive sound and POV that would’ve been capable of positioning themselves as one of the more entertaining and artistically vital bands of the time. All the more reason to cherish Electrophonic Chronic for the rare gem that it is.
Track Listing:
- “Keep on Dreamin'” (Dan Auerbach, Leon Michels, Richard Swift)
- “Eyez” (Auerbach, Michels, Swift, Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss)
- “Heaven Is A Place” (Auerbach, Michels, Steinweiss)
- “Califone Interlude” (Auerbach, Michels, Movshon, Russ Pahl, Steinweiss)
- “River” (Auerbach, Michels, Swift)
- “Sunshine” (Auerbach, Michels, Steinweiss, Swift)
- “A Man Will Do Wrong” (Willie Clarke, Clarence Reid)
- “Behind the Eyes” (Auerbach, Michels, Movshon, Pahl, Steinweiss)
- “Backstage Mess” (Auerbach, Michels, Movshon, Steinweiss, Swift)
- “Sporting Girls Interlude”
- “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (Auerbach, Michels, Steinweiss)
- “Only One For Me” (Auerbach, Michels, Swift, David Berman)
The 706 
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