El Camino
by The Black Keys
  • Record Label: Nonesuch
  • Release Date: Dec 6, 2011
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 284 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 264 out of 284
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 284
  3. Negative: 8 out of 284
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  1. supersigy
    Dec 20, 2011
    6
    By this point the Keys really needed to change up their sound, their flavor. They did that with El Camino. But they added sugar. If only they had added spice instead.
  2. imthenoob
    Feb 4, 2021
    6
    El Camino features a lot of great single hits but the overall experience falls apart in the second half of the album, which absolutely pales in comparison to the first half. Its parts are better than the sum.
  3. ramonefvk
    Dec 12, 2011
    4
    gone are any and all killer guitar riffs which have always been the backbone of their music. instead we get an overproduced pop album of songs that with the changing of a few lyrics could pass for a katy perry record.
  4. rapscallion1980
    Jan 4, 2012
    5
    The Black Keys hurry to push out another album after their most successful album "Brothers." El Camino Lacks everything that made the Black Keys cool. Gone are crunchy riff driven songs, and soulful singing. This album was made for the masses, and they're just eating it up, while real BK fans are left hangin' out to dry.
  5. RedNebula
    Dec 7, 2011
    6
    This is a fun album filled with catchy rock that you can bob your head to. However, where is the dirty blues rock sound that are seen on earlier albums. The problem I have with this album is the lack of innovation, nothing is unpredictable. No left turns, nothing is going into unfamiliar territory. (Little Black Submarines is the best song in this collection).

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best Album of 2011
22
#22 Most Discussed Album of 2011
34
#34 Most Shared Album of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. Mojo
    May 31, 2012
    100
    It's never just meat and potatoes. It's more like eating bone marrow in a fashionable restaurant - earthy, carnivorous but still beautifully designed and knowingly conceptualized. [Jan 2012, p.88]
  2. cokemachineglow
    Jan 17, 2012
    65
    With El Camino, the Black Keys have essentially twenty minutes of worthwhile music, at least as far as partying is concerned.
    Read full review
  3. Kerrang!
    Jan 3, 2012
    80
    This is a rip-roaring, multi-faceted rock fest. [17 Dec 2011, p.52]
See all critic reviews »