ALBUM REVIEW: The Black Keys - "Let's Rock"

When this album was first announced, I was ecstatic. I've been a fan of this duo for a while and after the very odd and experimental Turn Blue, I was hoping for a return to form from these two. After hearing Lo/Hi, for the first time, I had a good feeling. The track was groovy but still had that rock edge to it. It was a good introduction to the direction the duo was taking.  

They weren't going to copy Turn Blue, or try to recapture the magic of El Camino or Brothers. They were going to come up with something new while also returning to their roots. And the two following singles proved that theory even more. The toe-tapping drum driven Eagle Birds is a solid track that fits even better in the album form. And Go, I don't know where to start on the praise for this one. The verses make for the perfect summer song, then the guitar hits you in the style of Radiohead's Creep and the chorus transports you to another world. Then they slow it down to half-time for perfect head banging material. 

But enough talk about the singles, this IS an album review after all. This album is solid from front to back. It’s a nice mix of harder, more gritty songs and some slower, sweeter songs. You can tell that they took elements from previous albums when making this. For example, Walk Across The Water sounds like it was left off of Turn Blue, while the closing track, Fire Walk With Me, sounds like Lonely Boy part 2.

In the end, I am very pleased with this album. It's that return to form that I really hoped for. Also, I'm glad to see that Fuzz guitar pedals can still transport solos to another dimension.

I would rank

"Let's Rock"

By The Black Keys

8/10

The Black Keys go on tour in September. Modest Mouse will open for all shows. All dates are listed below. Tickets are on-sale now.

Sept. 21 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ Life Is Beautiful
Sept. 23 – Denver, Colo. @ Pepsi Center
Sept. 24 – Kansas City, Mo. @Sprint Center
Sept. 25 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Enterprise Center
Sept. 27 – Chicago, Ill. @ United Center
Sept. 28 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ Target Center
Sept. 30 – Cleveland, Ohio @ Quicken Loans Arena
Oct. 1 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Bridgestone Arena
Oct. 2 – Columbus, Ohio @ Nationwide Arena
Oct. 4 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ Fiserv Forum
Oct. 5 – Detroit, Mich. @ Little Caesars Arena
Oct. 7 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ PPG Paints Arena
Oct. 8 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Van Andel Arena
Oct. 9 – Toronto, Canada @ Scotiabank Arena
Oct. 11 – Boston, Mass. @ TD Garden
Oct. 12 – Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem
Oct. 14 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wells Fargo Arena
Oct. 15 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Barclays Center
Nov. 05 – Sunrise, Fla. @ BB&T Center
Nov. 06 – Orlando, Fla. @ Amway Center
Nov. 08 – Raleigh, N.C. @ PNC Arena
Nov. 09 – Atlanta, Ga. @ State Farm Arena
Nov. 12 – Houston, Texas @ Toyota Center
Nov. 13 – Austin, Texas @ Frank Erwin Center
Nov. 14 – Fort Worth, Texas @ Dickies Arena
Nov. 16 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Talking Stick Resort Arena
Nov. 17 – San Diego, Calif. @ Pechanga Arena
Nov. 19 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Forum
Nov. 20 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Chase Center
Nov. 22 – Portland, Ore. @ Moda Center
Nov. 23 – Tacoma, Wash. @ Tacoma Dome
Nov. 24 – Vancouver, Canada @ Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena