by Nick Marini

The Black Keys help keep rock in the mainstream – as the most popular North American rock band currently making music, they put blues rock, yes blues rock, on many radio stations, in a great number of television commercials and stuck in the heads of music listeners everywhere.

Now a household name, they seemed to have traveled far from their blues roots of albums like the rightfully critically-acclaimed “Rubber Factory” (named after the type of building in which it was recorded), “Chulahoma” (an E.P. and tribute to blues legend Junior Kimbrough) and “The Big Come Up” (their first album, with true-to-sound blues).

With the 2008 “Attack and Release,” their fifth full album, they entered the pop-radio realm at the hands of producer Joseph “Danger Mouse” Burton, who cut his teeth with the likes of Gnarls Barkley and Gorillaz. Danger Mouse gradually became the unofficial third member of the band alongside lead singer/guitar Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, and The Black Keys never looked back. They began to adopt a more radio-friendly schtick as the path for expanding their sound, keeping a bluesy feel while making choruses quick and energetic for those who want a dancey alternative to the Top 40 legends of today.

What we ended up with was four albums from 2008 until now, multiple number 1 Billboard singles, sold out tours and extensive radio and TV play. Here they are with “Turn Blue,” their eighth, and their most pop-friendly. It’s no coincidence that being at the top of the rock food chain results in a record like this.

It features uncharacteristically introspective songwriting from Auerbach, who reflects on failures like the publically painful divorce from his wife last year. He still exercises classic tropes of blues lyrics at times (“Where have all the good women gone?”), but elsewhere the lyrics have a personal feel, tapping into an introvert’s psyche where the listener may get the feel that they’re eavesdropping on an anguished confessional. Danger Mouse produces the aesthetics to echo his pleading voice on tracks like the capering lead single “Fever,” and Carney on percussion keeps simple, dance-minded beats full of energy to have those post-2008 fans hopping at live sold out arena shows.

Simply put, this is a hook-based record. Danger Mouse has singles in mind, and produces with the sleight of hand to sell them. His spinning swirls in the title track “Turn Blue” bring a stoner-rock feel to the rumbling bass guitar rhythm, and a quick hook compliments Auerbach’s croon: “I really do hope you know, there could be hell below, below.” It’s smooth, almost jazzy blues, but it’s easily digestible. It’s a characteristic that could speak for most of the album.

Overall, few risks are taken. However, the seven-minute opener “Weight of Love” features an impressive solo and a jam-rock structure, rising and falling around a consistent progression that fits right in with your porch playlists full of Led Zeppelin. It’s maybe the best-sounding song on the record, and one of only a few where they seem to try something new. Another is the album closer “Gotta Get Away” which pays homage to classic rock as an energetic summer anthem that could make any beer commercial proud.

Outside of these two, and maybe the build-and-crash power of the jammy “Bullet In the Brain,” Burton’s hand may be too heavy on the aesthetics. A song like “Turn Blue” is addictive and doesn’t feature the diminishing returns like the ransacked “Fever,” but overall there are fuzzy twangs and atmospheric spirals on the outside that lay a heavy fog over the organic Keys’ sound. This could have been another rock-focused blues album with a regretful and somber narrator, but heavy production focused on manufacturing catchy hooks drag The Black Keys away from innovation and into the comfort zone at the top of the rock food chain.

This isn’t necessarily a horrible thing – it’s still a solid group of songs that bode well for the future of rock on the radio. While blues traditionalists may scoff at this most recent effort (who’s a blues traditionalist these days anyway?), this is a pop-blues album (I’m coining that genre) that deserves its play time against other acts out there right now. I wouldn’t mind seeing Auerbach and Carney stray from this Danger Mouse quick-singles mentality and drop another dirty blues record, but sometimes pop stuff just sounds good, dammit. If music like this is what tops the charts, I’ll hardly complain.

Photo courtesy of media.digest, Creative Commons