Album #139: The Black Keys - Turn Blue

The Black Keys

Turn Blue (2014)

When Ohioans The Black Keys first came out in 2002, they garnered cult attention because of their stripped back, lo-fi, raw bluesy sound (created by just a drummer and a guitarist/vocalist). For the majority of their first four studio albums, this was the band's blueprint - gutsy, edgy, ballsy blues rock, with a seriously dirty aesthetic....but there was something undeniably real about The Black Keys' music. Its rawness gave it an imperfect quality that was part of its charm.

Well, that and it fucking rocked.

The writing was on the wall though with Brothers; the band's sound was ever so slowly changing to include heavy keyboards and more lavish production values, thanks to their collaboration with producer Danger Mouse. This continued (combined with a decision to write hooky hit singles) on the allegedly quite critically popular El Camino. 

The band's latest release, Turn Blue, keeps this lavish production going, again thanks to Danger Mouse's obsession with keyboards. Though this time, the hooks and sharpness of El Camino have been replaced with moody introspection and psychedelia. Does this represent the next stage of The Black Keys' 'evolution', or are there signs that the magic of old is on the wane?

The Album

The magic isn't on the wane, it's on fucking life support. Those early hallmarks are all but dead; where once the music burned with ballsy blues, today it simpers with snotty synthesised pop. Where once guitarist Dan Auerbach's axe sounded like a series of tuned chainsaws scything their way through a forest of rock and roll, today it is reduced to jangly chords buried under layers of keyboard, only briefly peeping out to show its stuff. There's no dry, lo-fi feel anymore, because The Black Keys have joined the ranks of the slickly-produced, commercially appealing. It probably doesn't help either that Auerbach's marriage was disintegrating during recording, because that too contributes to the sad, moroseness enveloping the album's sound.

And I for one think that's a fucking shame, because anything from Thickfreakness, Rubber Factory or even Attack & Release is more interesting, entertaining and dynamic than the entirety of Turn Blue. For that we must blame Danger Mouse; rather than letting the essence of The Black Keys be at the forefront of the songs, it must instead be buried under layers of keyboard. At times (Turn Blue, Fever and 10 Lovers especially) the band are less earthy blues rock and more synth/dancepop band and that is an absolute travesty against music; to reduce two men with a gift for filthy, muscular blues to little more than the 21st Century version of Roxette with guitars is fucking disgusting. Other times, like on the potentially good but not quite there In Time, the songs are crying out for production restraint, to let the sombre, introspective guitar tone tell the story and carry the song...except Danger Mouse has to RUIN EVERYONE'S SHIT with his fucked up 80s pop keyboards. And when they're not playing synthpop, they're playing fairly predictable, safe guitar pop (Gotta Get Away, the Flaming Lipsesque Waiting On Words and Year In Review), though even these tunes are decent; Gotta Get Away in particular is the only uptempo, rollicking moment on the album, with a decent little solo from Auerbach, while Year In Review features a great introspective lyric.

The album's three shining moments occur almost by accident. Two of them are remarkably psychedelic space rock in nature, while the third (It's Up To You Now) is one of only two non-Danger Mouse produced tracks (the other, unsurprisingly, is the rollicking keys-free Gotta Get Away.) Opening track Weight Of Love sounds eerily like early to mid 70s Pink Floyd, and that's not just because The Black Keys have basically stolen the chord progression from the Floyd's Breathe, but the acoustic guitars, simplistic Roger Waters-style bass, wailing guitar work and drummer Patrick Carney's Nick Mason impressions on the kit essentially make this a pure copy of the Floydian psychedelic sound. Nevertheless it's a great song, with two superb solos from Auerbach. Bullet In The Brain is also terrific psychedelic pop/rock, with spooky space rock keyboards, more Mason-style adventures from Carney and some haunting, hollow reverb-drenched vocals. It's Up To You Now is the only song that calls to mind the earlier sounds of the band; rumbling rhythms from Carney's toms, buzzy guitar (and supporting keyboard - SUPPORTING, Mr Danger Mouse, not DOMINATING THE GODDAMNED MIX PISSING EVERYONE OFF YOU ARSEHAT), some thick, chunky blues riffs and an equally meaty Auerbach solo. It was the only time in 45 minutes that I felt like I was actually listening to the same Black Keys who recorded songs like Have Love, Will Travel and I Got Mine.

The Verdict

No doubt Triple M are fucking falling over themselves to fellate the latest singles from The Black Keys. Additionally, I'm sure critics are falling over themselves to laud this as a 'masterpiece' and 'nuanced' and 'evidence of their continued evolution as a band to a more mainstream aesthetic'.

FUCK. ALL. THAT. BULLSHIT.

Turn Blue is decidedly poor, the sound of a band being ruined by a combination of wanktastic production and some sort of sick desire to become the new Duran Duran or something. There's very little here to recommend to anyone - old school lovers of the Black Keys (like me) will find that the fucking raucous edge that made them so appealing has been dulled completely, while people who thought that El Camino was their first album won't find any simple rocking hooks here.

I'm sure you wanted to make a moody, introspective album about your heartbreak, Dan......if only there were a style of music perfectly suited to tales of heartbreak, revenge, love and loss....perhaps with the name of a colour in it.....blues maybe.......

My rating: 4.8/10

Standout Tracks

Gotta Get Away

Weight of Love

It's Up To You Now