While The Black Keys have pursued their love of Mississippi blues through past efforts like 2006’s Chulahoma released in honor of Junior Kimbrough, they return to their Delta roots inspiration with the heartfelt 2021 covers project Delta Kream. The album’s title takes its name from the William Eggleston photo found on the album’s cover and the record finds the duo Dan Auerbach (vocals, guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums) putting their unmistakable gritty garage rock mark onto songs by Mississippi blues icons like Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Delta Kream dials back some of the sonically ambitious efforts from previous albums, recording with no rehearsal over a ten-hour session with a band that includes guitarist Kenny Brown and bassist Eric Deaton, both of whom supported Burnside and Kimbrough alongside auxiliary percussionist Sam Bacco (Robert Finley, Margo Price) and pianist/organist Ray Jacildo (JD McPherson). The result is an authentic whiskey-soaked vibe that perfectly suits Auerbach’s howlin’ vocals. Standout tracks include: the classic John Lee Hooker /Big Joe Williams track “Crawling Kingsnake”; the slide guitar-tinged take on Burnside’s “Poor Boy a Long Way from Home”; the woozy spoken word version of Kimbrough’s “Walk with Me”; Burnside’s barnburner “Going Down South”; and the vibrant cover of Ranie Burnette’s “Coal Black Mattie.” The Black Keys’ Delta Kream is a perfect balance of lo-fi garage swagger and the Mississippi blues traditions that inspired them. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Gary Clark Jr., The Heavy, Lonesome Shack, The Raconteurs, The White Stripes