I was more than a little skeptical when I heard that The Black Keys's Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney had been able to record another album in just over a year after their phenomenal Brothers (2010). Sure, The Beatles were able to harness that kind of energy in the 1960s and both The Roots and Kanye West have been able to produce quality work in a short period of time. However, for every group that is able to pull off that manic work pace, there is a Mars Volta that seems to miss the target more and more with each hastily prepared album. Thankfully, and this has been a damn strong year for music, Auerbach and Carney fall into the former category and their seventh record, El Camino (2011), is a hell of a ride.
