The Black Keys, Eagle Birds | Track Review

Despite being brief, The Black Keys pack quite a punch on “Eagle Birds,” the second single from the highly-anticipated album, “Let’s Rock.”

“See twin eagle birds up / In the tree / One for you and there’s / One for me.”  The Black Keys are back following a five-year hiatus between albums. The highly-anticipated new album, “Let’s Rock”, arrives in Summer 2019 (June 28, 2019).  After providing listeners a great sample of the album with promo single “Lo/Hi”, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney return with the short, but incredibly sweet single, “Eagle Birds.” “How ‘short’ is “Eagle Birds?” Well, it clocks in at only two-minutes-and-forty seconds.

“Eagle Birds” begins with a compelling drum groove by Patrick Carney, adorned with distorted, old-school rock guitars. Dan Auerbach sounds rock solid, maintaining his composure, yet delivering an effective, expressive performance (there’s still distortion on his vocals btw). Lyrically, Auerbach keeps things simple; there are a limited number of lyrics in each verse. The first verse is excerpted above, while on the second, Auerbach sings: “…All night long I / Had you on my mind / Flying high.” Later, there’s also a third verse, which brings the eagle/birds into the picture: “…Eagle bird I / Heard you fly on by / Late last night.”

Between each verse is a chorus, which is extended following the second and third verses.  It plays out, at its most basic, something like this:

“Don’t nobody wanna be lonely

Everybody oughta be loved sometime…”

Also, worth noting, a superb guitar solo follows the chorus after the second verse. It can be described as bluesy, turned-up, and perfectly suited to this alternative rock cut.

Final Thoughts

All in all, The Black Keys shine on “Eagle Birds,” even with such a short duration.  “Eagle Birds” benefits from its rocking groove (and overall production) and strong vocals from Dan Auerbach. Game changing? No, but a solid return for the Grammy-winning duo.

The Black Keys • “Let’s Rock” • Nonesuch • Release: 6.28.19

Photo Credits: Nonesuch