CD of The Week

It’s only been sixteen months since the release of the last album from The Black Keys, Ohio Players, but a lot has changed for singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney in the meantime. The first hitch was a cancelled arena tour in support of Ohio Players, booked perhaps out of a sense of overconfidence, that led to the firing of their management team. More troublingly, The Black Keys made the choice to headline a show on the “2024 America Loves Crypto Tour” (in their hometown of Akron, Ohio), which had ties to the campaign of Republican Senate candidate/current Trump stooge Bernie Moreno. Due to the negative publicity of these events, No Rain, No Flowers is saddled with more weight than a typical Black Keys album. The result is less of a return-to-form than you would hope, as the album lacks enough strong material to serve as a vital comeback for the blues-rock duo.

Of the album’s eleven tracks, “Man on a Mission” has the most spark to be reminiscent of past anthems such as “Howlin’ For You” and “Gold on the Ceiling,” and Auerbach’s guitar workout to close the song has real badass power. Much of the rest of the album floats in a vibier space that resembles Auerbach’s side project The Arcs, but lacks the psychedelic weirdness that makes their music frequently compelling. The presence of additional writers like Rick Nowels (who co-wrote hits with John Legend and Dido) and Daniel Tashian (who has collaborated with Kacey Musgraves) dulls the band’s sound and personality while also ensuring that every song has an appealing enough surface.

No track on the album is annoying or actively bad, but the only real standouts are the ones that introduce a surprisingly pleasurable element to the mix. “Babygirl” opens with a rollicking, earwormy piano melody that sustains through the song overpowering a lyrical sentiment that is a tad cringy now that Auerbach is in the back half of his 40s. Meanwhile, the Philly-soul inspired sheen of “Make You Mine” is well suited to the sweet vocal croon and easy groove of the song. “A Little Too High” (completing a trilogy with “Lo/Hi” and “Beautiful People (Stay High)”) possesses a driving chorus and a cool, fuzzy bridge that effectively accompanies Auerbach when he ruefully sings, “I can’t live alone / my heart isn’t stone / have you been gone so long?”.

No Rain, No Flowers is no better, no worse than the last few Black Keys records and the band’s unique ability to marry authentic grit and stadium-ready hooks is unlikely to reappear if they keep remaining so prolific. The duo’s timeline may have been rushed in order to reset a narrative or start a new era, but the resulting album feels half-baked and minor despite a few highlights.