This Akron, Ohio, duo are equipped with a guitar and a set of drums. And that s it. But it hasn t stopped them from carving a name for themselves quite separate from any wildly misguided White Stripes comparisons. This fourth album is not so much a step f

This Akron, Ohio, duo are equipped with a guitar and a set of drums. And that's it. But it hasn't stopped them from carving a name for themselves quite separate from any wildly misguided White Stripes comparisons.

This fourth album is not so much a step forward, or even sideways, as a hop-on-the-spot job for these boys.

Lucky, then, that their previous albums provided some stripped-down, jams-kicking, ass-rocking, riff-blasting ol' fashioned blues the way it used to be, all smudged guitar and rusty, my-baby-left-me lyrics.

Although a little low on originality, singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney continue to plough their own electro-blues furrow with exciting energy. 3/5