The Black Keys - Ohio Players (2024) Review
Ohio Players is the twelfth album by legendary rock band, The Black Keys. I can’t remember listening to a brand new, full album by The Black Keys since Turn Blue like ten years ago. I like these dudes whenever they appear in interviews and podcasts because they have a good sense of humor and seem like chill people. I was drawn to listen to this after the recent controversy of having to cancel their tour due to poor ticket sales and I wondered what their newest release was sounding like these days.
The album begins with “This Is Nowhere” and it is a solid pop song that works fine as an opener. It feels like I’ve heard the melody in the keys in the background before. I tried hard to figure out what it reminds me of but could not pinpoint it and it’s driving me crazy. I particularly like the bridge and the syncopated keys playing at the end of the song.
“Don’t Let Me Go” starts off so strong but ends up only being okay. I enjoy some things, especially the pre-chorus, but the chorus itself does not do it for me. The instrumental is fine, and I enjoy some of the track’s 60s/70s psych qualities. I do not like “Beautiful People (Stay High).” This sounds ready to be in a shitty car commercial and it was probably written for that purpose alone. It’s one I won’t be revisiting much I’m sure. I was honestly surprised to see that it was the most popular song on the album. At least it’s short.
“On the Game” is one of three collaborations with Oasis’ Noel Gallagher. The lead guitar definitely sounds like something Noel would do. This song has some things I enjoy but by the end of the song, I’m sort of tired of it. It feels stale like you’ve heard everything that’s gonna happen in the song within the first minute, but it drags on.
“Only Love Matters” is the second of the Noel Gallagher collaborations. I like this song, the lyrics are pretty simple and it is poppy but it works. I enjoy the instrumental break near the end of the track because it sounds like it’s garagey-psych from the 60’s. It gives me The Seeds vibes at moments. The production feels a bit too saturated and loud, but that’s also what the whole album has sounded like to this point so it may just be what they’re going for.
I am still torn about how I feel about “Candy and Her Friends (feat. Lil Noid).” I don’t hate it and it starts off strong but it’s got moments that feel stock and generic. The switch to hip-hop feels so out of nowhere and I could do without it. The Lil Noid verse isn’t bad either, and I think I prefer it to Dan’s part, but overall I don’t love this song.
“I Forgot to Be Your Lover” is one of the best songs on the album and it’s a William Bell cover. This is a little more gritty, and garage than the original but it’s still great. This shit ends too soon, and the first time I listened to the album I played it twice. Dan’s voice works very well for this soul cover. The Black Keys are at a point where they could’ve just covered a bunch of old soul songs and it would been awesome if this cover was anything to go off of. Even John Lennon had an all-covers album so no one is above doing something like that.
“Please Me (Till I’m Satisfied)” is kind of disappointing but only because I felt like this one was off to a solid start, but it ultimately does not follow through. That fuzzy guitar tone fucking rips and I wish they did something more exciting with it. This is a fine song, but The Black Keys have done this sound waayyyyyyyyy better in past albums. “You’ll Pay” is the last of Noel Gallagher’s contributions to the album and it’s a solid 60’s inspired tune. I like this and the saturated wall of sound works in its favor. There’s a ton of shit going on, but it works with this hectic story Dan is singing about.
“Paper Crown (feat. Beck & Juicy J) is my least favorite on the album. I do not like this song. “Candy and Her Friends” was okay with its mix of hip-hop and rock, but this one does not work for me. The Juicy J verse is awful and this shit doesn’t mix well together. I do like the keyboard during the first part of the song and they should’ve had it more prevalent throughout. The guitar riff on “Live Till I Die” sounds like a worse version of Black Sabbath’s “NIB.” This song sounds unfinished and just kind of plays through, I find it pretty forgettable.
“Read ‘Em and Weep” is like a western-inspired garage rock song. I feel like this had more potential, but they stopped themselves from fully embracing the theme and goofiness. King Gizzard does the psychedelic western sound better on Microtonal Banana or better yet try anything by The Black Angels. The guitar fucking rips throughout the song that’s for sure. Overall the song is fine, I feel like this song would be cool live with some crazy 60s-style psych visuals.
“Fever Tree” sounds pretty by the numbers like of all the songs on this album this is surely one of them. I do like the outro for this song. The acoustic section in the middle works, and I feel like instead of completely switching to hip-hop on those songs they should’ve used more acoustic sections because it would’ve made the album feel more cohesive. I grew to enjoy “Every Time You Leave” the more I listened to it because after the first listen or two I was thoroughly whelmed. I still don’t think it’s amazing but it’s fine. My main gripe with it is that there’s no sense of finality despite being the final track. This could’ve been placed anywhere on the album and it’d make no difference at all.
All in all, I think Ohio Players is okay. It’s got some things I enjoy and it’s got some shit I will probably never listen to again. The production feels sloppy at times and the whole thing feels more like a compilation of songs than a structured album. Some songs are pretty decent and others feel like they have more potential than what we received. The duo sound like they’re in the studio having a good time and fucking around and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I would be surprised if anyone puts this in their list of top Black Keys albums, but I feel like that would be the case for any band that’s been active for over 20 years with a dozen albums under their belt.
Speedrun the Album: “This is Nowhere,” “Only Love Matters,” “I Forgot To Be Your Lover,” “You’ll Pay,” “Every Time You Leave”
5/10 - Average