Review: The Black Keys "El Camino"

Rock music has found a new poster child.

The Black Keys, who released their seventh studio album El Camino last week, have been rocking their consistent bluesy garage rock for the last decade and rarely strayed from their rock-at-the-core sound. That remains true on El Camino. A mild-moderate fan of their previous efforts, the Keys have reached beyond their core audience, delivering a sound that appeals across genre lines. Maybe it’s the pivotal bridge in the lead-track “Lonely Boy”, that seems to connect their consistent sound to an insatiably infectious hook, allowing credibility on the pop charts. And it’s that track that have music enthusiasts (and music supervisors) salivating. “Gold On The Ceiling” is another – and for good reason – instant classic, sounding like it should have existed long before now.

The album in general, though, is just plain great (their best in my opinion). Effortlessly taking you from track one to the last of the eleven-tracks, it feels like the duo have played on the album’s kitschy title, taking the listener from point A to B like the old-school Chevrolet. And while the record is shorter than their previous efforts, it makes it that much more appealing … and perhaps craving another. But don’t expect to check it out on Spotify or other streaming services, the band has said they will not include their music on those platforms, which is either unimportant or brilliantly raises their street-cred. Seeing that Coldplay and Mac Miller made similar choices earlier this year, it’s clear there’s no negative impact.

You can get El Camino on iTunes and in stores now. And you should.