The Black Keys – ‘Peaches’ album review: Welcome home, we’ve missed you
The opening five seconds of The Black Keys‘ new album are a whole lot of everything and nothing.
THE SKINNY: There’s no structure to the opening of the song ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire’, instead, it’s just a few improvised notes, a blues lick played over a fuzz-infused guitar. It’s nothing. And yet, to fans of the band, and fans of this style of music, those few sporadic notes are a welcome home, a door flung open and the kettle on, as they mark the beginning of what is The Black Keys‘ most raw-sounding record.
A bit of background on the album first. Dan Auerbach’s father had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and his bandmates and friends saw that the Black Keys frontman needed cheering up. When music has been your source of comfort your entire life, you best believe that the best form of support they could all give one another was simply getting into the studio and jamming.
Out of that small seed of seeking comfort grew Peaches! the band’s brand new album, which they’ve admitted, was never actually supposed to be an album in the first place. This was supposed to be a group of friends getting together and playing music as a form of release, but these ten tracks found form in the process.
“We weren’t making a record. We were just jamming, like this is for us,” said Auerbach when discussing the album, “Really primal, in a moment when all the nerves were raw, just kinda screaming. We were going through a lot, trying to lift our spirits. I think my dad getting sick made me not give a fuck and just wanna scream for a bit.”
Those beginning improvised notes that open up the album are pretty much a perfect representation of the rest of the record. Obviously, the songs that follow have a lot more structure to them, but they sound incredibly improvised, like a real reflection of the blues, as the genre does what it has done for decades: gives musicians an outlet for pain.
This is the rawest and most emotive album that The Black Keys have ever put out. You don’t feel like a listener tuning in, instead, you’re a fly on the wall, watching as a band of exceptional musicians tap into somewhere words can’t reach in a bid to bring all of this emotion to the surface through the medium of guitar solos, drum fills, and distortion.
It’s not a versatile album. The songs overlap in terms of style, but given the means by which the record was made, that’s fine. This album isn’t one to pick individual songs out of. Sure, I could mention the catchy chorus on ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire’, the braggadocious guitar solo on ‘Tomorrow Night’, and the tinny mouth organ on ‘It’s A Dream’, but this isn’t a record to ponder over, it’s one to fully immerse yourself in for its runtime and then move on with your day. It’s a release of the blues, and emotive music done in the best possible way.
Standout Track: ‘Tomorrow Night’
The Verdict: Music at its most raw. The songs have little structure, instead, they sound improvised, jammed, and raw, as the blues becomes the go-to genre for people to channel pain. This is a proper rock album, both romantic and over the top in its delivery.
Release Date: May 1st, 2025 | Producer: Patrick Carney | Label: Easy Eye Sound / Parlophone Records
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.