Music Times writers share an office area of roughly 45 sq. ft, which makes having face-to-face conversations totally impossible. Junk Mail is these millenials attempt to discuss and review the week's hottest album releases... without needing to look at each other.
This week: Ryan Book, Caitlin Carter, Joey DeGroot, and Carolyn Menyes e-mail back and forth about The Black Keys' Turn Blue.
Carolyn Menyes: I guess I should start this Junk Mail by disclosing the fact that I am from Akron. We are very, very proud of The Black Keys in Northeast Ohio. It's all we have... I should also start this review by saying, straight up, that this album is just miles and miles ahead of El Camino. For the most part, The Black Keys returned to its vintage, blues-infused roots, but they also managed to pull in the modern, high quality production. I'm pretty happy with this album. It's making this 330 girl proud.
Caitlin Carter: I totally agree. When "Fever" first came out, I was skeptical, but after hearing the album as a whole, the song has started to grow on me within the context of the rest of the album. Turn Blue was the logical progression for the band. I think some longtime fans will be disappointed to see the lo-fi blues rock fall somewhat by the wayside, but honestly, that happened back in 2010. Danger Mouse has basically become a third member of the band, helping write all but 2 songs on the record. With Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney established producers in their own right, you sort of have a power trio. I hear a lot of influences from Danger Mouse's Broken Bells sound, but it's still clearly the Black Keys. AND HOLY OPENING TRACK, by the way (but I'll get into that later).
Joseph DeGroot: I'm glad the Black Keys are smart enough to keep progressing musically, since they couldn't have stuck to their stripped down blues-rock thing for much longer without everyone losing interest, but I feel like they've grown too comfortable with Danger Mouse. Their first two collaborations, Attack & Release and Brothers, were definitely still Black Keys albums, but as Caitlin said, Danger Mouse is basically a third member of the band now, receiving co-writing and performing credits, and I think he's drowning out the Black Keys in the process.
Ryan Book: I am that fan Caitlin referenced, who fears the fall of lo-fi in The Black Keys sound. Which is not to say that her quote about Turn Blue being a "logical progression" is wrong.
Comfort with Danger Mouse is definitely the problem here. I haven't read any reviews yet, but there will inevitably be countless references to Danger Mouse's official project, Broken Bells. More prescient (and humorous) however is Turn Blue's similarity to another album that features Southwestern, wide-open plains production that was also handled by Danger Mouse. I recall Rome being a project shared by Norah Jones and some guitarist...I just can't think of his name right now. Whoever it was, I'm sure they don't have a huge catty history of being compared with the Keys' Dan Auerbach.
CM: I really don't mind the heavy hand of Danger Mouse with The Black Keys, at least here on Turn Blue. I think this album is sort of a perfect blend of the band's old and newer sound, with a heavy dose of psychedelics. This is honestly my favorite album from The Black Keys in quite some time precisely because of this. "Bullet In The Brain" and even the title track have some of those old blues-y elements that made everyone fall in love with The Black Keys back in the day mixed with dat high-quality production the band is fond of now. I mean, we're just never going to get another lo-fi song from these guys, the days of Rubber Factory are loooong gone. So, you know, you gotta take what you can get, and this is a good blend of classic rock and modern alt.
CC: I agree that the days of lo-fi are long gone for these guys. I loved it, and I will continue to go back to their earlier stuff, but reproducing that today wouldn't make sense for a full album (maybe a single, though). They've been able to try on a bunch of different sounds throughout their career, and Turn Blue is a toned-down, smoothed-over blend of their catalog. For me, that works. I get where you both think Danger Mouse's influence comes on a bit strong. Honestly, they either need to stop referring to themselves as a two-piece if this is the direction they're going to continue to go (which wouldn't be a problem, they are making great music together, but they aren't the same band they started off as) or they need try out another producer for the next effort.
JD: I totally don't mind that they've abandoned their early sound. Any band that's been around for 13 years shouldn't sound the same as when they started, and I'm digging the psychedelic thing they have going on, but I feel like the production overwhelms any sense of humanity in the performances and songs. Dan Auerbach's voice used to have a ton of personality and soul, but on Turn Blue it's just kind of...there. His vocal performances aren't technically bad, but they're lacking soul, even if the music itself is (ironically) more soul influenced.
RB: I found the same irony in the music video for "Fever." There's little doubt that The Black Keys don't buy into the hijinks of televangelists, but you gotta hand it to the latter group: They pour a lot of emotion into their performances. "Fever" didn't make me feel the sweat that was all over Dan Auerbach's face during the video.
You can't rate a song or an album based on videos, but the point is this: The Black Keys used to be music you could sweat to, and Turn Blue wasn't. This isn't a question of whether they should've played more rock 'n' roll or more soul, because both genres ultimately shoot for the same goal. Whatever genre this was supposed to be, I'm fairly sure it wasn't meant to be an adagio, but that's how I felt throughout (except for 'Weight of Love, which I'm sure Caitlin shall return to).
CM: "Fever" is the weakest song on Turn Blue by far, in my opinion. Why it's the lead single... I'll never know. I think that's all I have to say about that. It's not the rocking-est song nor the grooving-est, nor the most psychadelic or "weird," which I think is what the band is going for on this album. "Fever" works in line with the rest of the album but not so much on its own.
CC: I can see where you're going with the lack of "soul" as it pertains to Auerbach's vocals on the album, however, I think there's still a punch to the instrumentals throughout that keeps it vibrant. As for "Weight of Love"....
Having gone into the album only hearing "Fever," "Turn Blue" and "Bullet in the Brain" previously, "Weight of Love" sold me. I'm pretty sure this is the first time Auerbach's really gone for the extended guitar solo, and it was bad ass. I think they've generally strayed away from anything "jammy," but it works in small doses, and they chose the perfect moment to try it out. The sequencing of it on the album was interesting. "Weigh of Love" seems like a natural closer to me, but I'm so glad they decided to open with it. The energy from this track was enough to last me throughout the rest of the more melancholy psychedelic tracks.
JD: I agree about "Weight of Love," which is definitely one of the album's strongest tracks, if not the strongest overall. If they really want to move in another direction, the sprawling psychedelic thing they're going for in that track would be a great place to start. I'm also really happy that they decided to put it at the beginning of the album rather than at the end, because it would be pretty boring and very "Album Sequencing 101" to put the extended jam song as the closer. I'm completely in favor of more bands shaking up traditions this way, but it also makes the rest of the album pale in comparison. This wouldn't have been a problem if the songs were better, but that's not exactly a simple request.
RB: Eh, why not lengthen everything?
I watched Auerbach jam with Neil Young during "Rocking in The Free World" a few years back, and he definitely held his own with one of fuzz's forefathers. I would argue that nine-of-ten bands needs to scale back before they blow their sound out, but "Weight of Love" proves Auerbach and Carney are responsible enough to drive down that road. The Black Keys could afford to loosen up*, and may benefit from it.
Joe's FINAL THOUGHTS
Turn Blue's dense production seems like an attempt to make up for lackluster songwriting, but it ends up swallowing the band whole. It's entirely possibly for the Black Keys to expand musically while staying faithful to their stripped down nature, I just don't think they've figured it out yet.
Carolyn's FINAL THOUGHTS
This is just a totally different Black Keys than what we've heard before, and I'm totally OK with that. I think this still maintains the classic rock element that made people fall in love with The Black Keys in the first place while logically launching the band forward in both its sound and production value. Maybe it's the poptimist in me, but I don't mind the production here -- they were going for some psychedelic, chilled out vibes, and that's what they got, Danger Mouse and all.
Caitlin's FINAL THOUGHTS
As I previously stated, Turn Blue is the natural progression for The Black Keys. At times a little lyrically and vocally uninspired, the production and instrumentals on the album are spot on with "Weight of Love" doing it best. The "spirit" on the album is arguably a bit lacking, but it might just take me a few more listens to really latch on. I think this is the sort of album where little production details will start to come through after a few listens, and with it will come the energy the Keys are known for. (Or a the very least, they'll bring it to life live). It's definitely not a chalk-full of hits, but it's a solid effort from The Black Keys + Danger Mouse.
Ryan's FINAL THOUGHTS
My petty thoughts on why The Black Keys should stay as rock 'n' roll as possible: If bands such as themselves start experimenting with string sections and electronic elements, Alex Turner will have more reason to pretend like there was some threat that the genre would disappear, and in doing so would continue to give speeches at British awards shows that force me to roll my eyes until they hurt. Please, Black Keys, don't let this happen.
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