Grade: B –

The Black Keys’ latest effort attempts to push the art of sparse song arranging while retaining the duo’s Delta blues integrity.

“Magic Potion” is more about greasy blues workouts and less about raspy garage rock. The album is a thick miasma of fuzztone guitar riffs and cymbal-drenched drums that compliments Dan Auerbach’s whiskey-soaked vocals. Auerbach has a fantastic blues voice and really sells the Mississippi Delta aspects in songs like “You’re the One” and “Give Your Heart Away.”

Where previous albums have, sounded static and uninterested, songs like “Your Touch” and the Raspberries-like “Black Door” are vibrant with saturated guitar lines and improved song structures.

You won’t find any hooky choruses here — this is ugly music.

The guitar sound on “Magic Potion” has improved dramatically from previous releases and is much thicker and resonant, which is perhaps why the intro to “Black Door” sounds so utterly slamming. Auerbach’s guitar sounds almost like a dinosaur at times, which is a good and a bad thing: the attitude is audible in Auerbach’s playing but he lacks the ability to stretch out harmonies and explore arrangements.

Simplicity may be a component of the Black Keys’ sound, but a bit more melody would really put the songs through the stratosphere.

Albums with a basement-quality production can have a certain charm to them. “Magic Potion” may not be one of those albums, but it shows maturity and growth.

They should get out of the house more often.

Keith Beebe is a music critic for the

Northern Star.