The Black Keys – “Let’s Rock”

After a long hiatus to work on other projects, Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney have gotten back together as The Black Keys. Whereas they were once underground blues-rock revivalists, they long since became rock n’ roll mainstays as big as Jack White. Their sound has shifted as well, from its rawer earlier days to becoming more polished, and that gets even more polish on the radio-friendly, if unoriginal, “Let’s Rock”.

Yes, The Black Keys definitely want to Rock, and have not lost their enthusiasm for doing so. “Let’s Rock” is littered with catchy, backyard barbeque-ready songs that are undeniably enjoyable, from the straightforward blues-rock of opener “Shine a Little Light” to closer “Fire Walk With Me”. While there are moments that get better than that, such as the fun “Get Yourself Together” and “Under the Gun”, nothing on the record stands out, save that nothing stands out. “Eagle Birds” sounds a whole lot like earlier hit single “Lonely Boy”, while “Sit Around and Miss You” brings to mind countless seventies FM hits, without adding anything.

The quotation marks around “Let’s Rock” almost indicate that the album is obligatory rock, doing just what is asked, and nothing more. But sometimes, that’s good enough.