El Camino is full of solid bluesy rock n' roll. Style-wise, this reminds me of a more blues-driven version of The White Stripes. The White Stripes comparisons don't end there, like The White Stripes, The Black Keys also have no shortage of catchy tracks and riffs. Album opener "Lonely Boy" has the best riff and hook of the album. It's a really upbeat and rocking tune that gets the album rolling with some great momentum right out of the gate. It's near impossible to not have that song stuck your head after listening to it. The momentum keeps rolling with the next track "Dead and Gone", which is another one of the album's standouts. The pace slows down a bit with "Gold On The Ceiling" and "Little Black Submarines", but the quality remains the same. The second half of the album doesn't match the quality of the first half. Some of the songs kind of drag and lack the flare that the first half of the album has. The weaker second half ultimately took away from some of my enjoyment of the album, but it's not enough to derail it completely.
El Camino converted be into The Black Keys fan. Blues/Rock combos are kind of hard to come by right now and The Black Keys do it well. There are plenty of catchy hooks and excellent riffs that make you want to keep coming back to it. The weaker second half definitely did take away from my enjoyment and prevented this record from getting a higher score. I am sure people who are bigger fans of the genre will enjoy this record a lot more than I did. I plan on revisiting their discography soon. If El Camino is any indication, I'm sure they have done plenty of quality work over the course of their career.
3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Lonely Boy
2.Little Black Submarines
3.Dead and Gone
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