Review Summary: Not all that immediate, but you get more immersed with every listen...
The Black Keys have always carried on their craft somewhere between the blues and retro rock. Now, with album #8 "Turn Blue", the Keys have largely turned back to the sound of their breakout album "Brothers." For anyone (like me) who loved the soul/r&b sound of "Brothers", "Turn Blue" is for you. Indeed, there is one big rock song "Gotta Get Away", but even that tune is drenched in soul. After their most commercial album "El Camino", with all it's big riffs and glory, I'm convinced Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney took another long vacation in Muscle Shoals, Alabama where "Brothers" was recorded. "Turn Blue" is The Black Keys at their most psychedelic, and most soulful.
"Weight of Love" is a nearly seven minutes long track that is gentle and expansive. It does sound a bit Pink Floyd-influenced. Many tracks are very r&b oriented, from the piano-driven "In Time", the funky "Year In Review", to the awesome "10 Lovers", which bears a lot of influence from Turn Blue's producer, Danger Mouse. In fact, "10 Lovers" and "In Our Prime" would've slotted well onto the recent release from Danger Mouse's project Broken Bells. There is a lot of synths and audio effects on "Turn Blue", but they mostly sound like something from the '70's. Really, "Gotta Get Away" is unnecessary on "Turn Blue", and feels like something tacked onto the end to please the rock side of the Keys' fanbase. The track most people will already know from "Turn Blue" is the first single "Fever." The bass-driven mid-tempo track is a great song, even if that goddamn synth line sounds like something you would hear at a ***ing carnival. Yes, that annoying synth line somehow adds to the song, slightly. For a band who doesn't have an official bassist in the group, "Turn Blue" is very bass-oriented, which only adds to the soul/r&b vibes flying around.
"Turn Blue" should be considered the album the Black Keys should've made right after "Brothers." It is really "Brothers" part two, and feels like a surprise after "El Camino." Indeed, after the huge success of "El Camino", it wouldn't have been very shocking if The Black Keys had simply kept making garage rock. However, it appears that The Black Keys embraced their weirdest influences, and thus created this beauty. "Turn Blue" is not an easy album, and there are no moments of instant gratification to be found here. But, if you stick with it, "Turn Blue" will grow on you, until you are fully engulfed by it's atmosphere.
