'Dropout Boogie' sounds like gloriously old-school theblackkeys and exemplifies their career-long vibe.
To that end, they’ve looped in sympatico collaborators, including Memphis garage-rock savant Greg Cartwright, frequent Kings of Leon producer Angelo Patraglia, and ZZ Top’s almighty Billy Gibbons. They’ve spent whole albums collaborating with Danger Mouse, and both Keys have worked on other people’s R&B and roots albums, so the choogle and soul of “For the Love of Money” feels as natural as a broken-in jean jacket.
But it’s tough to imagine the early Black Keys without Cartwright’s outfits, such as Nineties legends Oblivions and Reigning Sound, bands hardcore Keys fans need to hear today. Cartwright and Patraglia throw down on the swaggering first single and leadoff track “Wild Child.” And since Gibbons’ band is a root integer of any blues-trio thunder that comes after, it’s only fitting that he delivers a perfectly Top-tastic solo on “Good Love.”
The collaborations are uniformly excellent, but it’s on duo workouts like “Burn the Damn Thing Down,” “Your Team Is Looking Good,” and slowish jam “How Long” wheresounds like gloriously old-school Keys and exemplifies their career-long vibe. Their rock & roll minimalism is more than enough.