Every thriving Metropolis has it's one two man (or woman) roots-punk-blues combo. You wouldn't think so, but it's true. Most of them end up sounding like Flat Duo Jets or Deja Voodoo- primitive, sweaty, minimalist junk rock. While these bands usually find wild local support with the retro-hipsters, you and I both know it's a ruse, a snake with no head, and no amount of Brylcreem or Johnny Cash intros are going to convince cats like us of these slop duos' authenticity. Not so with the Black Keys, despite fitting the two man blues gang description. These Ohio-based brothers of the loneliest beat have constructed an album that can't possibly have come from the hands and mouths of two white guys from Akron, even with vintage amps. The only explanation I can think of is witchcraft, maybe a deal with the devil. I mean, it worked for Robert Johnson, right? However they pulled it off, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney channel Muddy Waters and Cream with such total immersion in the fuzzy bad luck power blues that I keep checking the CD cover to make sure "Big Come Up" isn't actually a lost relic from 1968. The execution is flawless, the songs, particularly the Motown inflected "Them Eyes" and the hypnotic Bo Diddley cop "Heavy Soul" are all suitably low down, dirty and about as authentic sounding as the blues can get without being born black in 1925, and with any luck, the Black Keys just might teach the kids the lesson that went completely over the Nirvana fans' heads about where all this rock and roll came from in the first place. Highly recommended super soul power. I hereby take back everything I've said about Ohio. Well, most of it.