Auerbach’s soulful side project comes out on top

The Marxist school of sociological thought posits our world as one of unceasing conflict, an undercurrent of discord raging through every instance of human interaction. It’s just as a handy a theory for making sense of large-scale movements like Black Lives Matter as it is for explaining the lesser tensions in life, like why company execs enjoy corner offices and lowlier workers cramp up in drab cubicles. While viewing the world through this lens of struggle can be draining and downright depressing in its proletarian pessimism, it’s not a bad way to take in “Yours, Dreamily,” the violent debut album from the Arcs.

The pet project of Dan Auerbach, known best as the front-stage half of blues-rock duo the Black Keys, the Arcs’ introductory statement is rife with turmoil, as guitars slash like switchblades and dubby drums pummel one-two blows with a pugilist’s muscly grace. Lyrically a response to Auerbach’s hellish divorce – which made minor headlines two years ago when he and his now-ex-wife allegedly battled over custody of a lock of Bob Dylan’s hair – “Yours, Dreamily” is full of tumultuous metaphors ranging from the domestic loneliness of spoiled milk to the bloody endurance test of a boxing match.

Auerbach’s penchant for indulging muses outside of the pentatonic sludge of the Black Keys has already made for an impressive body of work beyond the confines of his main gig. He cut an underrated, if lopsided, album under his own name in 2009, and reunited that same year with Keys drummer Patrick Carney and a bevy of big-name rappers for the fuzzy rap-rock hybrid “Blakroc.” Over the last five years, he’s taken to pushing faders for artists as diverse as Dr. John, Nikki Lane and Lana Del Rey, honing production skills gloriously displayed on “Dreamily.”

More often than not, side projects are met with a shoulder shrug of faint satisfaction from fans, content enough to have something to chew on in the meantime. However, after catching their biggest break with their unassailable “Brothers” LP, the Black Keys alienated much of their indie fanbase with the purposely poppy “El Camino,” and further soured the bad taste left in many mouths by last year’s roaringly dull “Turn Blue.” Newly invigorated with a crack band of Daptone session players and the brilliant producer/multi-instrumentalist Richard Swift, as well as the eight-piece, all-female mariachi band pulling double duty as backup singers, Auerbach comes out swinging in the wake of the Keys’ slump.

Immediately clear upon listening to “Dreamily” is a level of density lacking in Auerbach’s previous records. He’s taken a big leap from writing run-of-the-mill “she done me wrong” blues stompers, and considering that the band pared the album down from a catalogue of 70-odd possible cuts, the fourteen on the record are there deservedly. All of the tracks are heavily arranged, often coming through as miniature suites, manic with inventive melodies and Auerbach’s craftiest lyricism yet. “Dreamily” is an album that truly rewards active listening; the group’s second-nature musicality gives the music a façade of looseness that cloaks the brilliant, seamless arrangements.

The overarching garage-soul vibe, replete with era-reminiscent reverb and thoughtful pacing makes this an album for the album lover, though many of the songs are knockouts on their own. Namely, the slinky soul of “Stay in My Corner” takes its inspiration from the ballyhooed Mayweather-Pacquiao match and shapes it into a charming vow of “got your back” love as Auerbach’s endearing falsetto promises not to throw in the towel on his sweetheart. A toy piano plinks over a dodgy drumbeat, finally erupting in a victorious slide guitar solo. Auerbach’s aforementioned hip-hop leanings get a shout-out as well, with tight hip-hop beats undercutting “Rosie (Ooh La La),” before ballooning into its going-down-swinging chorus.

“Yours, Dreamily” may be the finest of Auerbach’s works in his decade and a half of recording, and I can only hope that the Arcs last another round.