Review: Black Keys Get The Blues

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the_black_keys_turn_blue_photo_01The Black Keys – ‘Turn Blue’

By Zach Buggy

2011 saw the release of The Black Keys’ seventh album, the acclaimed El Camino – 11 in-your-face hits with serious seventies flair.

This led to the duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney picking up three Grammys, including Best Album. Despite the record’s accessibility, it still pleased long time followers who’ve been with the band since their garage rock beginnings.

The presence of producer/frequent collaborator Danger Mouse has grown on each record since teaming with the band for 2008’s Attack & Release.

Turn Blue is the new, eighth album from the pair. From the almost seven minute opening track ‘Weight of Love’, it is evident that this is a very different vehicle altogether. Lyrically and musically inspired by Auerbach’s divorce, the music trades huge, memorable hooks for more melancholic, smoother, almost ambient jams.

black keysHere is where the presence of Danger Mouse is now so evident. Anyone familiar with his Broken Bells project should hear the similarities almost instantly.

The album draws from psychedelic rock, and has a clear soul vibe running through the tracks. The music is endearing without being too self indulgent, apart from the opener.

Unfortunately, the music is as about as engaging as it gets. The lyrics are weak, cliched and utterly forgettable. The Black Keys have always been about the tune, be it in their stripped down early days, or in their later polish produced anthems.

The lyrics have never been the main draw, but when you release an album as sonically pleasing and intimate as this, and don’t have anything worthwhile to say behind it, it just kind of feels redundant.

Auerbach has stated the lyrics are all heavily inspired by his divorce. Meaning no disrespect, but lyrics about such honest experiences can still be bland. You want to lend a sympathetic ear to his gentle, heart aching musings but there’s nothing but cliche after cliche about “walking down lonely roads” and “worried hearts being far apart”.

Opening track ‘Weight of Love’ is the stand-out as it is the longest and contains quite a lengthy intro and musical interlude. As I said, the music and production on this record are excellent, but the lyrics are nowhere near the same level and it really is a shame.

Tracks like ‘In Time’ and ‘Year In Review’ are great but again, apart from the music and melody, there’s nothing here. Don’t get me wrong, Dan Auerbach is a fine vocalist, but throughout Turn Blue, he has nothing worthwhile to say. Even acoustic ballad ‘Waiting On Words’ I really hoped would grab my hear or pluck my heart strings in someway but nope.

At forty-five minutes, the album is almost 10 minutes longer than its predecessor, and overstays its welcome just a tad. The spacey, soundscapes and funky grooves only last so long before the monotony of the lyrics just becomes too much, every song is identical.

There’s no range of mixed emotions, showing us the different sides and stories of a break up. A real break-up album should paint clear pictures of the different stages of a relationship, the ups, downs, good times and bad, not just track after track of “my relationship has failed”.

No doubt many will disagree with me and see this as another gem from the group. And why shouldn’t they?

It’s a musically excellent album, with great production, that is fresh and sonically more challenging than it’s predecessor. Unfortunately, lyrics are as big of a deal to me and without the two to compliment each other accordingly, I feel it drags the music down, especially when subjected to 11 songs in a row.

Fans of The Black Keys, primarily El Camino, will dig this record a lot. It’s more complex than their previous effort and it makes the music more rewarding, but to anyone not firmly on the bandwagon already, this isn’t going to convert you, not by any means.

4/10

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