The Black Keys

Ohio Players is the twelfth studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was released on April 5, 2024, by Easy Eye Sound and Nonesuch Records. The album currently has a Metacritic score of 76 indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Rolling Stone stated the presence of guest musicians such as Beck and Noel Gallagher made Ohio Players "one of their best LPs". Several reviews positively noted the Black Keys' ability to reinvent their sound while remaining in touch with their garage rock and blues roots. A positive review from Pitchfork called the album "lively, fresh and colorful." A mixed review from Slant Magazine felt the guest musicians caused The Black Keys to be lost in their own album, and criticized the song "Beautiful People (Stay High)" for sounding as if it was AI generated and trying hard to appeal to "lifestyle brands".

The Black Keys will release a special tenth anniversary edition of their landmark seventh studio album El Camino via Nonesuch Records on November 5, 2021. El Camino (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) will be available in several formats including a Super Deluxe edition of five vinyl LPs or four CDs, featuring a remastered version of the original album, a previously unreleased Live in Portland, ME concert recording, a BBC Radio 1 Zane Lowe session from 2012 and a 2011 Electro-Vox session.

Sometimes an album just names itself. “We were in the studio and reading the local news in Nashville,” The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “They executed the first prisoner in 16 years in Nashville the week we were recording. They asked for his final words and he said, ‘Let’s rock.’” There isn’t a lot of overthinking on The Black Keys’ first new record in five years. It’s the sound of the duo kicking out the jams in Nashville. Topics of escape and confusion are seeded in Auerbach’s dueling guitar overlays and propped up by Patrick Carney’s steady hands. Songs recall the joy of traveling up and down a transistor radio dial in the ’70s; there are nods to Stealers Wheel (“Sit Around and Miss You”) and The Amboy Dukes (“Every Little Thing”), as well as dips into glam and Texas boogie-woogie. Carney digs for “When the Levee Breaks” bedrock on “Go.” Then “Lo/Hi,” “Fire Walk With Me,” and “Get Yourself Together” are classic Black Keys, complete with strutting backbeat and Leisa Hans and Ashley Wilcoxson’s backup vocals, which are so key to their chemistry and continuity.

After 10 albums, the last five of which have gone top 10 or better, six Grammy awards, and sold-out tours around the world, The Black Keys are back: the duo, called ‘America’s Most Trusted Band’ by Stephen Colbert, and ‘One of the best rock’n’roll bands on the planet’ by Uncut, releases its eleventh studio album, Dropout Boogie, via Nonesuch Records.

Following the tumultuous promotion cycle for 2024's Ohio Players, the Black Keys wasted no time dwelling on the past and forged ahead with their 13th album, No Rain, No Flowers. As the title implies, the duo have taken an optimistic view on events, and the music reflects that attitude, resulting in some of the catchier and more upbeat offerings in their discography. They recruited hitmakers Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves), Rick Nowels (Madonna, Lana Del Rey), and Scott Storch (Beyoncé, Dr. Dre) for the LP, but - unlike the strong stylistic influence exerted by Danger Mouse on El Camino and Turn Blue - Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney haven't suddenly recorded a pop/hip-hop album. Instead, they keep it close to their existing blues-rock sound, with the producers simply adding a little shine here and there…

Turn Blue is the eighth studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was co-produced by Danger Mouse and the band, and was released on Nonesuch Records on May 12, 2014. The record was the group's fourth collaboration with Danger Mouse, following their previous studio album, El Camino (2011), which was their biggest commercial and critical success to that point. For Turn Blue, Danger Mouse reprised his role from El Camino as an equal songwriting partner alongside guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carne.