Electrophonic Chronic

The Black Keys のダン・オーバックや The Shins のメンバーによるプロジェクト The Arcs、8年ぶりの2ndアルバム!

2015年の1stアルバム『Yours, Dreamily,』以来となる8年ぶりのセカンドアルバム。
ダン・オーバックがThe Black Keysのバンドメイト、Leon Michelsとプロヂュース、元メンバーの故Richard Swiftと、彼が2018年に他界する前にレコーディングしていた作品。

Electrophonic Chronic arrives seven years after Yours, Dreamily, the 2015 debut from the Arcs, a side project from Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. The long wait is entirely due to the 2018 death of Richard Swift, the multi-instrumentalist who served as the Arcs drummer since their inception. Most of the music on Electrophonic Chronic was recorded prior to his passing, but it took Auerbach and producer Leon Michels until 2022 to assemble the tapes into a finished album, treating the project as a salute to their departed bandmate. Rhythm is an essential part of Electrophonic Chronic, as is texture, a combination that essentially makes this album the reverse image of Yours, Dreamily, where the grooves were as concise and precise as the hooks. Here, the Arcs drift along elliptically funky rhythms, patterns that allow Auerbach to draw circular melodies that are tuneful without quite being catchy. All this means that Electrophonic Chronic plays like an old-fashioned long-player instead of a stack of 45s, a heady experience that nevertheless is anchored in R&B. Maybe the thrills arent as immediate as they are on Yours, Dreamily, yet the free-floating psychedelic soul is alluring, as well as a worthy tribute to Swift. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine