The Black Keys Attack & Release

I've always thought of the Black Keys as a much less creative version of the White Stripes. Granted, they do well with their two man drum-and-guitar only setup, and they did create one impressive near-masterpiece with Rubber Factory. But they don't have the range of instruments Jack White has (piano, bagpipes, marimbas, etc.) and they don't have his range of influence (bluegrass, folk, etc.) so what do they do after a few albums? They can call in a ringer or they can remake the same album until people get sick of them.

Well, guess what: they called in a ringer. Two, actually. Danger Mouse, of Gnarls Barkley and Grey Album fame, takes on the unlikely production role of the year. Marc Ribot (who has played with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Joe Henry, Robert Plant, etc.) is about the last person I would expect to see here: how will his atmospherics and subtly work with a garage-blues outfit? He is my all-time favorite underrated studio guitarist, so I'm sure he can make this work.

The result is a Black Keys album that usually sounds like the producer added to it after it was already finished. That isn't necessarily a bad plan, since it still holds on to most of the charge and excitement Rubber Factory had and it still emphasizes their driving guitar hooks and excellent singing (think: a white Jimi Hendrix). The differences are the surprises that fill in the voids left by the small manpower, like the banjo in "All You Ever Wanted" and the flute in the intro of "Same old Thing".

Attack & Release isn't the liberating artistic triumph that the White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan was, but it is a big step for a band that is looking forward while keeping what they do best. This album was an outlet for some ideas that could have failed if handled wrong, but ultimately gave the band some new artistic focus, the way Van Dyke Parks did for Silverchair on Young Modern last year. It's always great to see a band trying so hard.

Best Tracks: "All You Ever Wanted", "Strange Times", "Lies", "So He Won't Break"