There's a good reason that most rock bands aren't
duos—the sonic palette dries up quickly. Blues-rock tandem The Black Keys
appeared to max out its potential on 2004's Rubber Factory, eschewing the primitivism
of its previous releases and embracing full-bodied arena-rock stomp. At that
point, The Black Keys should have hired a bassist, a second guitarist, and a
boogie-woogie keyboardist and become this generation's Bad Company. Instead,
The Black Keys tapped producer Danger Mouse to bring some sonic variety to Attack
& Release, a
tacit admission that the two-man blooze formula had finally worn thin on 2006's
samey Magic Potion.
So what does a Danger Mouse and Black Keys collaboration sound like? At its
best, it sounds like "Psychotic Girl," which pares the band's usual riff-heavy
bluster down to a slinky guitar, sleepy drums, and Dan Auerbach's lustful
moaning, and lays it on a bed of disembodied voices and psychedelic banjo
plunking. Here, Danger Mouse helps deconstruct and reassemble The Black Keys
into something fresher than the sum of their overly familiar parts. Attack
& Release falters
on the rockers, which sound like the same old Keys, for better or worse. But
when Danger Mouse coaxes out the band's soul side on the slow 'n' sexy "All You
Ever Wanted," The Black Keys suddenly find a way around their self-imposed
restrictions.