Dropout Boogie

As the record swiftly spins through these production and melodic hooks, it gives the impression of a jukebox filled with a bunch of excavated gems, and that's not a bad comfort zone for the Black Keys at all.

Fame, fortune and influence haven’t dulled their initial impulses, something made clear on the hypnotic unvarnished vibe created throughout the superb Dropout Boogie.

It’s easy to envision any one of these tracks performed live as almost all have singalong type choruses and hip-shaking grooves, certainly the case for “Baby, I’m Coming Home,” which has enough fiery guitars sounding off that it suggests Gibbons has strapped on his axe too. The closer, “Didn’t I Love You,” brings blues riffs, guitar distortion, and a rawness, emblematic of the garage-rock that first stamped this enduring band.

A “Time Of The Season”-like Latin groove powers standout “It Ain’t Over”, syncopated by percussionist Sam Bacco, whose tambourine and shakers are the album’s secret sauce. [Jun 2022, p.25]

Dropout Boogie is full of hearty, feel-good songs that make me think of irreverent comedies like The Full Monty or The Commitments or any film featuring ragtag characters trying to get by.

Twenty years on from their debut, ‘The Big Come Up’, it’s a statement of how far they’ve come, as well as an indicator of where they might be heading next.

The svelte, 34-minute Dropout Boogie — which comes out the day before the 20th anniversary of their first album — keeps things similarly crunchy.

Its first side certainly has its moments. ... Unfortunately, there is just as much pedestrian material that stubbornly fails to lodge in the memory.

They’re the sort of tunes that the Keys can pull off with ease, as satisfying as a perfectly tossed curveball landing in a beaten-up catcher’s mitt. But they also make you wish the Keys didn't spend the rest of Dropout Boogie lobbing underhand pitches right down the middle of the plate.

The blues kings show no signs of turning off their well-beaten path here, but they’re still capable of conjuring enough magic on the journey.