Cut swiftly -- no more than two weeks at three different studios spread coast to coast --
the Arcs
' 2015 debut
Yours, Dreamily
does bear a spontaneous air, a record that enjoys its hazy detours as much as its sturdy foundations. This blend of airy sonic swirls and R&B-influenced rock formalism feels familiar, perhaps because it is the aesthetic that's driven
Arcs
leader
Dan Auerbach
during the heady mid-career heyday of his main gig,
the Black Keys
. Once the Ohio garage blues duo hooked up with producer
Danger Mouse
for 2008's
Attack & Release
,
incorporated impressionistic soundscapes to their guitar growl but
flips the equation, favoring feel over grind. Certainly, much of this shift is due to
being a very different band than
. Recorded with drummer
Patrick Carney
recovering from a shoulder injury in early 2015,
Auerbach
surrounds himself with like-minded travelers -- bassist
Richard Swift
is a member of
the Keys
' touring lineup, while other members have a history with the retro-soul specialists at
Daptone
-- and, appropriately, there's a powerful soulful undercurrent pulsating throughout
, an emphasis on supple grooves that contrasts neatly with the brute force of
. More than anything, this full-blooded foray into classic soul -- based on this album,
' love of R&B extends from Memphis in 1966 to Philadelphia in 1973 and nothing later -- telegraphs how this is the work of a band, not a singer/songwriter. Sure,
is littered with production tricks -- slight, trippy phasing on rhythm and vocals, guitars filtered to resemble either transistor radios or saturated fuzz -- but everything comes back to the group's elastic, blissed-out groove, a feel that can suggest either love or heartache depending upon the angle from which it's viewed. While the songs are good -- there's canny craftsmanship behind the
Stylistics
salute "Stay in My Corner" and the steady crawling "Put a Flower in Your Pocket" -- it's this immersive, trippy atmosphere that distinguishes
and makes
live up to its name. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine