The Black Keys – Ohio Players (Album Review)

In their 12th studio album release, the Ohio duo comprised of Dan Auerbach (Vocals/Guitar) and Patrick Carney (Drums) join forces with various writers and artists for a project that finds them expanding their soundscape with new genres, features, and stylistic choices. With both Dan and Patrick citing in interviews their intention to expand their catalogue of artists they’ve worked with, their newest album is a true testament to that as can be seen in their collaborative efforts in writing, production, and features. Joining forces with writers such as Beck, Dan the Automator, Noel Gallagher, and even Juicy J for most songs, The Black Keys have taken the time (Two years since their last release, Dropout Boogie) to collaborate with different inspirations in an attempt strike a harmonious balance of being rooted in their established style while incorporating fresh inclusions.

In their 14 song album (44min), The Black Keys explore their typical sound of Garage Rock but, this time around, infuse it with different genres/sounds such as Stomp and Clap, Rap, Spaghetti Western, Trip Hop, Blues Rock, Funk and Synthpop. The highlights of the success of these genres begin with tracks such as This Is Nowhere, Please Me (Till I’m Satisfied), and Every Time You Leave which are the best representations of The Black Key’s typical sound of noisy, droning chords, modulated vocals, and rhythmic yet jerky instrumentation of Garage Rock with the vocal and lyrical styles of Blues Rock. Exploring familiar territory with hints of Spaghetti Western in tracks such as On The Game, Read Em and Weep, and Don’t Let Me Go offers fresh depths to the album with Spanish-tinged guitars, freight train rhymes, and Western-based lyricism that pair well with the Garage/Blues Rock present.

Additionally, while being no strangers to Funk, The Black Keys offer some funky and upbeat tracks such as Only Love Matters, highlighting their ability to create groovy, rhythmic, and energetic tracks with just a bass line, guitar, and electronic infusions. The standout track, though, can be found on their cover of William Bell’s original 1969 classic soul track I Forgot To Be Your Lover which includes contributions from Kelly Finnigan (Monophonics) playing organ with Tommy Brenneck (Budos Band, Charles Bradley) playing baritone guitar. Thanks to a beautiful arrangement of layered instrumentation that is unique to the sound of The Black Keys while still paying homage to the source material, The Black Key’s cover shines as the strongest structured and sounding song in instrumentation, vocalization, and style.

On the flip side of the successes of this mix bag of genres explored are the near/complete misses made by the duo. Exploring the use of Synth (Likely inspired by the inclusion of Beck as a featured artist, writer, and producer on the album) in tracks such as You’ll Pay, and Fever Tree offers some fun and different variations to The Black Key’s staple sound but ultimately clashes with some of the instrumentation present in the tracks.

Take Fever Tree for example; a light and melodic Bluesy track with chimes, drums, and guitar set the tone for the track until met with the clashing and whirring sound of synth within the chorus, abruptly uprooting the feel of the song and creating a disjointed flowing song. While this creative risk didn’t pay off, The Black Keys found themselves wandering on the outskirts of the Clap and Stomp genre in tracks such as Beautiful People (Stay High) which, as their lead single for the album, feels like their attempt to crack the radio-friendly formula with a fairly basic and lifeless Lumineer’s remnant feeling song. The real issues arise with The Black Keys’ inclusion of rap artists such as Juicy J and Lil Noid within the tracks Paper Crown and Candy and Her Friends, respectively.

While Lil Noid offers a solid verse and performance over The Black Keys’ light and spacey guitar, drum, and bass line (Trip Hop) instrumental for an interesting fusion, it clashes with Part I of the track. Separated as Part I and Part II with Part I offering layered guitars and drums with a slow and deliberate pace accompanied by Dan’s vocal performance, the juxtaposition in sound and style halfway through into Part II, again, gives a disjointed feel to the track itself, especially in Paper Crown.

A featured track bringing together Beck, Juicy J, and The Black Keys finds the first half of the track offering a groovy, wonky, and light rhythmic instrumental with infusions of electric guitar, bass, and organ to the backdrop of two verses from Beck and a chorus from Dan, exploring lyrics of an empowered woman. It isn’t until halfway through the track that the instrumentation switches to whirring synth and a more rhythmic drum line before Juicy J comes in for two verses, offering a fairly average performance with an empty lyricism that somewhat aligns with the abstractness of the track. Chaotic, messy, and disjointed, the track ultimately fails and sits as the worst track on the album yet still offers some charm and endearment given the effort, the collaboration, and the absurdness of the track itself.

Vocally, Dan Auerbach does a solid job of singing his way through the album to the tune of different styles, high/low notes, and a breadth of sporadic gusto. While it feels as if Dan doesn’t showcase his gruff, raw, vocal talent as much in this album as found in previous releases, he does offer a more polished, albeit less enthused and passionate, performance instead. With some vocal modulations to give that Garage Rock sound (Reverb, light distortion, compression, and slapback delay), Dan ultimately excels best when he is given a chance to let his vocals shine without interference.

The Black Keys’ cover of I Forgot To Be Your Lover is the best vocal moment within the entire project for Dan, finding the performer offering a raw, angelic, and passionate performance to the classic by William Bell. As for the features included (Beck, Juicy J, Lil Noid), they all ultimately do a fine job of representing their respective sound, style, and genre but clash with either the flow, lyricism, or sound of the track, derailing some of the potential the track could offer.

Lyrically, the album offers a lot of abstract yet superficial lyricism with themes being explored such as: not belonging, attempting to rekindle love, persevering the hardships of life, the importance of love, and enjoying the simple things. While the lyrics are overly simplistic and the themes themselves not particularly deep, there is little to get lyrically from this album as the ultimate feel of the track seems to be the most important component in their latest release.

For example, Paper Crown offers some fun ‘Beckisms’ in the first half that are quirky, odd, and abstract and are then met with Juicy J’s verses that are generic tropes of the genre that are hardly cryptic and go beyond the superficial. While this would work for a Trap/Memphis Rap track that Juicy J is accustomed to, it ultimately lowers the quality of the track especially when the lyricism doesn’t particularly align with the track itself, making it the lowest point lyrically in the album’s next to Candy and Her Friends and Beautiful People (Stay High).

With writing credits sprawling throughout from Beck, Dan the Automator, and Noel Gallagher, it is shocking to see so many influential writers join together to create such forgettable lyricism. While The Black Keys are no strangers to simple, repetitive, and abstract lyricism, using such talents to improve their album just for it to ultimately decrease the quality and authenticity of their tracks is a disappointing step backward.

Ultimately, the album feels like an identity crisis for an aging band attempting to find their new sound in an ever-changing soundscape that gives their album less of The Black Keys sound and more of Portugal. The Man. In an album that is not cohesive in sound and style, it is a bumpy journey of a listen that might be accessible to the masses but ultimately is forgettable.

Rating/Mediocre – The Black Keys’ mission to collaborate with new and different artists was ultimately successful as artists such as Beck, Dan the Automator, and Noel Gallagher being responsible for most of the songs writing credits and production. Unfortunately, the collaborations they set out to affiliate with either clashed with their established sound and/or transformed their new tracks to soulless, radio-centric attempts to make a hit. While the instrumentation is quality throughout thanks to the talents of Dan and Patrick with some impressive vocal moments from Dan, the creative choices derail their prowess and ability to maintain a compelling song. With most tracks being just average and/or messy, the album is ultimately forgettable as a failed attempt to further their sound with collaborations that don’t serve their best interests with a new sound that ultimately dwindles their identity to an almost imitation of Portugal. The Man quality tracks.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]