Yours, Dreamily [LP]

by The Arcs

Overview

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, the Black Keys incorporated impressionistic soundscapes to their guitar growl but Yours, Dreamily flips the equation, favoring feel over grind. Certainly, much of this shift is due to the Arcs being a very different band than the Black Keys. 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 Yours, Dreamily, an emphasis on supple grooves that contrasts neatly with the brute force of the Black Keys. More than anything, this full-blooded foray into classic soul -- based on this album, the Arcs' 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, Yours, Dreamily 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 the Arcs and makes Yours, Dreamily live up to its name. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	09/04/2015
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597950014
Rank:	20078

Tracks

1. Once We Begin (Intro)
2. Outta My Mind
3. Put a Flower in Your Pocket
4. Pistol Made of Bones
5. Everything You Do (You Do for You)
6. Stay in My Corner
7. Cold Companion
8. The Arc
9. Nature's Child
10. Velvet Ditch
11. Chains of Love
12. Come & Go
13. Rosie (Ooh La La)
14. Searching the Blue

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Arcs   Primary Artist
Kenny Vaughan   Guitar,Guitar (Baritone)
Dave Roe   Bass (Upright)
Richard Swift   Drums,Vocals,Keyboards
Dan Auerbach   Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards,Percussion,Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jeffrey Clemens   Drums
Russ Pahl   Pedal Steel,Guitar (Electric)
Ray Mason   Trombone
Bobby Emmett   Horn,Piano,Vocals
Brian Olive   Vocals
Homer Steinweiss   Drums
Lee Fields   Vocals
Leon Michels   Horn,Organ,Piano,Guitar,Percussion,Synthesizer
Thomas Brenneck   Guitar
El Oms   Handwriting
Flor de Toloache   Horn,Vocals,Strings,Vocals (Background)
Veronica Medellin   Guitarron

Technical Credits

Tchad Blake   Mixing
Dan Auerbach   Sounds,Composer,Producer,Art Direction
Homer Steinweiss   Composer
Leon Michels   Sounds,Composer,Producer
Collin Dupuis   Engineer
Ken Takahashi   Engineer
Brian Lucey   Mastering
Phil Joly   Engineer
Alysse Gafkjen   Insert Photography
Ric Alessio   Art Direction,Graphic Design
Ben Baptie   Engineer
Joe Visciano   Engineer
Nicholas Movshon   Composer
El Oms   Illustrations
Gil Boyne   Dialogue,Audio Control