fri 29/11/2024

CD: Black Keys - Let’s Rock | reviews, news & interviews

CD: Black Keys - Let’s Rock

CD: Black Keys - Let’s Rock

A surprisingly slick return for the Akron duo

Let's Rock: a lurch towards the mainstream

Let’s Rock is a return to action after a five-year break by blues-rock duo the Black Keys and, given their track record of raw musical swagger on such great discs as Attack and Release and Brothers, it’s one that comes as a bit of a surprise.

Largely gone are the grubby blues licks that the Akron duo used to whip up at will and, in their place, is a slick sound that feels uncomfortably close to the bombastic background music used in Eighties TV series Miami Vice.

This new direction is particularly evident on “Get Yourself Together” which sounds like something Don Henley might have put out in his “Boys of Summer” pomp. Similarly, “Tell Me Lies”, with it’s almost South American groove, comes on like Fleetwood Mac. In years past, this might have been taken as a pointer to the blusey, Peter Green-fronted version of the band. On Let’s Rock, however, the Tango in the Night iteration might be used as a better signpost towards the new influences on Black Key’s sound. Indeed, late period yacht rock is also joined by other musical threads and both “Sit Around and Miss You” and “Walk Across the Water” are shot through with echoes of the Beatles, to the extent that they feel like pastiches.

Let’s Rock may offer slim pickings, but when they go their own way, instead of aping someone else, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney do manage a fine homage to sunny, psychedelic pop on “Go”. Similarly, “Eagle Birds” is a nice bit of Southern Boogie and “Fire Walk with Me”, with its “Voodoo Chile”-influenced blues rock thump, is a diamond. It’s just that much of the rest of the album reflects its somewhat uninspired title and feels feeble. In fact, while Let’s Rock seems like a definite lurch towards the mainstream, it is to be hoped that this misstep turns out to be temporary.

A slick sound uncomfortably close to the bombastic background music used in Eighties TV series Miami Vice

rating

Editor Rating: 
2
Average: 2 (1 vote)

Explore topics

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters