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**Dan Auerbach – Waiting On A Song**
★★★★☆

Five years after his debut solo outing Keep It Hid, Dan Auerbach returned in 2017 with Waiting On A Song, an album that finds The Black Keys' guitarist and primary songwriter stepping further away from the blues-rock bombast that made his name. What emerges is a record steeped in Nashville tradition, country soul, and the kind of lived-in authenticity that can only come from a musician who's spent the better part of a decade learning to trust his instincts beyond the power chord.

The genesis of Waiting On A Song lies in Auerbach's relocation to Nashville and his immersion in the city's legendary Easy Eye Sound studio – the same hallowed ground where he's been crafting albums for everyone from Yola to The Arcs. Following The Black Keys' hiatus after 2014's Turn Blue, Auerbach found himself with time to explore the musical pathways that had always intrigued him but never quite fit the Keys' aesthetic. The result is an album that feels like a natural progression rather than a radical departure, even as it trades distorted riffs for pedal steel and Hammond organ.

Musically, Waiting On A Song occupies the fertile ground between classic country, Memphis soul, and the kind of rootsy rock that feels equally at home in a honky-tonk or a record collector's listening room. Auerbach's production – crisp yet warm, modern yet timeless – allows each instrument to breathe while maintaining the cohesive atmosphere that's become his trademark. The album's sonic palette draws heavily from the Muscle Shoals and Stax playbooks, but there's enough contemporary sensibility to keep things from feeling like mere pastiche.

The opening track "Waiting On A Song" sets the tone with its gentle shuffle and Auerbach's increasingly confident vocals, which have grown in range and expression since his early solo work. His voice, once primarily a vehicle for blues-rock attitude, now carries genuine emotional weight, particularly on the album's more introspective moments. The song's lyrics – a meditation on creative patience and the mysterious process of songwriting – feel like a mission statement for an artist learning to embrace subtlety over volume.

"Shine On Me" emerges as the album's most immediate triumph, a gospel-tinged rocker that marries Auerbach's guitar prowess with a full-throated embrace of Southern soul traditions. The track's ascending chord progression and call-and-response vocals create an undeniable sense of uplift, while maintaining enough grit to satisfy longtime fans. Similarly effective is "King Of A One Horse Town," which finds Auerbach channeling his inner country crooner over a bed of weeping pedal steel and brushed drums. The song's self-deprecating humor and small-town imagery feel genuine rather than calculated, a testament to Auerbach's growing skills as a storyteller.

"Malibu Man" provides the album's most direct link to Auerbach's rock roots, but even here the approach is more nuanced than anything in The Black Keys catalog. The track's surf-rock undertones and sun-soaked production create a sense of place that's both specific and universal, while Auerbach's guitar work demonstrates his ability to serve the song rather than dominate it. The closing "Show Me" strips things down to their essence – voice, guitar, and subtle orchestration – creating an intimate finale that feels like a late-night confession.

Throughout Waiting On A Song, Auerbach benefits from the contributions of Nashville's A-list session players, including bassist Dave Roe and drummer Gene Chrisman, whose collective experience adds layers of authenticity that can't be manufactured. The album's arrangements never feel cluttered, instead allowing each element to contribute to a greater whole that's both sophisticated and accessible.

In the years since its release, Waiting On A Song has revealed itself as a crucial stepping stone in Auerbach's evolution from blues-rock traditionalist to a more complete artistic voice. While it may lack the immediate impact of The Black Keys' biggest hits, the album's quieter pleasures have proven more durable, establishing Auerbach as a producer and songwriter capable of working across genres without losing his essential identity.

The album stands as proof that sometimes the most rewarding artistic journeys happen not in the spotlight's glare, but in the patient exploration of new territories. For Auerbach, waiting on a song proved to be time well spent.