For a band who started by entirely self-producing their own records and performing in basements, it has ended up being a long and storied career so far for The Black Keys. The blues-rock group, consisting of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, began their career with their first five albums, from 2001 debut The Big Come Up through to 2008’s Thickfreakness, all playing in a modern blues rock wheelhouse.
Distorted, heavily fuzzed guitar lines and Auerbach’s soulful warm vocals played over Carney’s frenetic, energetic drums; the duo quickly garnered a passionate following and renowned for their live performances. But then everything changed as they exploded into the mainstream with the quickfire releases of Brothers and El Camino.
Yet since reaching those mainstream heights, the band have somewhat struggled to recapture that spark. Beginning with 2014’s Turn Blue, the duo haven’t quite hit their stride in the confident and captivating way they once did, and this continues with album 13, No Rain, No Flowers.
This is a quick follow up to their previous album, Ohio Players, which was a major departure for the band by featuring guest artists. While there was a certain novelty seeing the duo collaborate with different artists and producers, such as Greg Kurstin and Beck, it didn’t succeed in rejuvenating their sound.
Though the band have reverted to their norm this time, their attempt at returning to their blues-rock sound fails to feel as energetic and dynamic as it once did. Though not as meandering as the previous album, there is more of a groove here, like with the opening tracks “No Rain, No Flowers” and “The Night Before”. Not quite as electric as “Howling For You” or “Gold On The Ceiling”, two of the band's best known hits from the Brothers/El Camino era, it is at least fa step above from their previous.
Elsewhere, “Man on a Mission” provides a rockier moment, approaching a vibe like the duos earlier days. Yet long before the arm-in-arm sing-a-long closer “Neon Moon” rounds out the proceedings, there is an unshakeable feeling of Auerbach and Carney remaining somewhat in flux. There is still potential for an unmistakable classic from The Black Keys somewhere in there, but the easy listening rock of No Rain, No Flowers isn’t quite it.
