Description
Dan Auerbach – Keep It Hid – Vinyl Record
Dan Auerbach’s Keep It Hid, released on February 10, 2009, is a gritty, soulful, and roots-soaked solo debut that pulls back the curtain on the raw, blues-drenched sensibilities that were always simmering beneath his work with The Black Keys. While Auerbach was already widely known as the guitarist and vocalist of that minimalist garage blues-rock duo, Keep It Hid reveals more of his personal musical DNA—diving deeper into folk, psych-rock, delta blues, and vintage soul, all laced with a haunting, analog warmth that speaks to Auerbach’s love of lo-fi textures and classic recording techniques.
Recorded in his Akron, Ohio home studio (later known as Akron Analog), the album carries an unmistakable intimacy. There’s a basement tape feel to it—dusty, reverb-laced, and steeped in a kind of moody Americana mysticism. It’s not a showy record, but it brims with confidence and atmosphere, like an old friend telling hard truths through tube amps and tube-driven microphones. What distinguishes Keep It Hid from his work with The Black Keys is not just the layered instrumentation but the space Auerbach allows for introspection. Where the Keys leaned on tight, riff-heavy bursts, this solo effort opens up: there are acoustic guitars, fingerpicked folk passages, layered harmonies, and even moments of near-psychedelic haze.
The opening track, “Trouble Weighs a Ton,” is a sparse acoustic number that immediately sets a different tone—somber, tender, and reflective. It’s unlike the gritty stomp fans might have expected and signals that this album is more about emotional resonance than brute force. Auerbach sings with aching restraint, channeling heartbreak and burden with minimal arrangement. From there, the record expands its sonic palette. “I Want Some More” is swampy and grimy, sounding like a long-lost B-side from a Stax session filtered through a garage rock lens. “Heartbroken, In Disrepair” amps things up with thick fuzz riffs and a groove that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Black Keys record, but here it’s wrapped in a darker, more layered arrangement.
One of the album’s standout tracks is “Whispered Words (Pretty Lies),” which features Auerbach’s uncle, James Quine, on harmony vocals. The song is lush and atmospheric, evoking both the intimacy of ‘70s singer-songwriters and the cinematic melancholy of someone like Lee Hazlewood. The inclusion of family—Quine also co-wrote a few songs—adds a personal, even spiritual layer to the album. “When the Night Comes” is another gem: ghostly and noirish, it feels like a soundtrack to a late-night drive through the rustbelt, filled with shadows and memories.
The title track, “Keep It Hid,” plays like a manifesto—restrained, enigmatic, and emotionally guarded. It’s blues, but stripped of cliché. Auerbach isn’t just mimicking old sounds—he’s inhabiting them, reinterpreting them through a postmodern, lo-fi lens. The recording style plays a crucial role here: analog hiss, tape warmth, and reverberating rooms all create a tactile sonic world that feels authentic without being slavishly retro. The album moves fluidly between moods—dirty rock riffs in “Mean Monsoon,” vulnerable confessionals in “Real Desire,” and garage gospel in “Goin’ Home.” The final track, “Goin’ Home,” originally featured in the film Up in the Air, is perhaps the most delicate and heartfelt piece on the record. It strips everything down to acoustic guitar and voice, capturing the album’s core themes of longing, regret, and a quietly desperate kind of hope.
While Keep It Hid didn’t make a massive commercial splash at the time, it’s since become something of a cult favorite—particularly among fans of vintage soul, modern blues, and analog-era recording purists. It’s a record that doesn’t shout for attention but rewards close, repeated listening. The songwriting is sharp, the tones are rich and lived-in, and Auerbach proves himself not only a commanding musician but a storyteller with a deep sense of mood and space.
In the context of Auerbach’s broader career, Keep It Hid stands as a blueprint for what would follow: his work with The Arcs, his role as a sought-after producer (for artists like Lana Del Rey, Yola, and Marcus King), and his continuing expansion into the Nashville soul scene through his Easy Eye Sound label. It’s the sound of an artist peeling away a layer of his public persona and revealing something far more nuanced and emotionally complex beneath.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Trouble Weighs A Ton
I Want Some More
Heartbroken, In Disrepair
Because I Should
Whispered Words (Pretty Lies)
Real Desire
When The Night Comes
Mean Monsoon
The Prowl
Keep It Hid
My Last Mistake
When I Left The Room
Street Walkin’
Goin’ Home
