Since The Black Keys returned from their hiatus in 2019, they have put out fine, if not very memorable albums (‘Let’s Rock’, Delta Kream, Dropout Boogie) and seem to be checking the boxes needed to continue as one of the few arena-filling rock bands left on the scene in workmen like (if uninspired) fashion. That all changes on Ohio Players, the duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have found that creative musical joy again, with the overarching feeling on the album being, fun.
This is achieved by calling upon their wide range of friends and collaborators to deliver a hodge-podge of past Black Key styles while also breaking exciting new ground, staying true to the band’s ethos while expanding their sonic palette in fresh ways. It is as if Auerbach and Carney took all the outside interests they may have explored in solo projects and brought them into their main band.
The clear headline for Ohio Players is the group’s winning collaborations with longtime friend Beck who co-wrote/performs on half the songs, bringing his funky electro-pop stylings into the band’s retro rock world. Fans of The Black Keys who are not Beck fans may be put off, but fans of any sort of enjoyable music will find catchy tune after catchy tune.
The album kicks off with sludgy bass lines on “This Is Nowhere” but things instantly turn bright with a melody that swirls into a soaring chorus, warbling and grooving joyously while “Don’t Let Me Go” inflates theatrically around strings, horns, and falsetto singing. The huge single “Beautiful People (Stay High)” certainly sounds more Beck’ish than BK’ish but the groove (helped by Dan the Automator) is so instantly infectious it doesn’t matter. “Live Till I Die” is also a banger that finds inspiration in Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” with glee and ascending riffs.
Staying in arena rock mode the album wraps with two more Beck collaborations. “Fever Tree” is crushing and will bounce off rafters with its Nah Nah Nah chanting while “Everytime You Leave” is a grooving, 80’s influenced electro-pop jam that brings in Greg Kurstin to produce the and lay down laser synths.
While a full album of the Keys with Beck would be fantastic, he is far from the only high-profile collaborator here as the duo worked with Noel Gallagher, recording three songs with him as well. All three have unique charms like the swirling psych/soul/pop of “On the Game”, the driving, direct, hand-clapping “Only Love Matters” and “You’ll Pay” which uses layers of rocking soul sounds along with Leon Michaels sax work, recalling Auerbach’s efforts with Dr. John on the fantastic Locked Down. Recent collaborator Greg Cartwright also gets in on the act, helping to write the rumbling garage rocking “Please Me (Till I’m Satisfied)” and the distorted western surf rock of “Read Em and Weep” that has flashes of 50’s girl group goodness.
All of this would be more than enough, but The Black Keys also recall their Blakroc days by bringing in some Memphis MCs to alter the sound and tone on two tracks. “Candy and Her Friends” starts with a hip-hop drumbeat laid down by Carney, before a sweet Auerbach pop vocal floats out, surprisingly the tune ominously slows down and Lil Noid delivers the tough rhymes. Record scratches and Beck gets the funky dance vibes flowing on “Paper Crown” before the tempo drops again, this time for Juicy J to get loose. The group even offers up a straight retro soul cover of William Bell and Booker T. Jones “I Forgot to Be Your Lover”, which feels like overkill on the album already stuffed full, but clearly, Auerbach and Carney were in an excitable place with this record.
The long-running duo seems rejuvenated, having found that musical spark to keep their relationship fresh by bringing in collaborators. Purists can always revisit their more stripped-down records and while Ohio Players may fall just short of the heights of their critical/commercial breakthrough period (Brothers, El Camino), The Black Keys, and all the musical guests, have a damn good time making an album that is once again close to that level.
