| Ohio Players | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 5, 2024 (2024-04-05) | |||
| Studio | Easy Eye Sound (Nashville) | |||
| Genre | Garage rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 44:04 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| The Black Keys chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ohio Players | ||||
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Ohio Players is the twelfth studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys. It was released on April 5, 2024, by Easy Eye Sound and Nonesuch Records.[1][2] It was preceded by lead single "Beautiful People (Stay High)" on January 12, 2024,[3][4][5] and the second single "I Forgot to Be Your Lover", a cover of William Bell's 1968 song of the same title.[6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 76/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Guardian |   [8] |
| NME | [9] |
| Pitchfork | 7.2/10[10] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
| Slant Magazine |  [12] |
The album currently has a Metacritic score of 76, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[7] Rolling Stone stated the presence of guest musicians such as Beck and Noel Gallagher made Ohio Players "one of their best LPs".[11] Several reviews positively noted the Black Keys' ability to reinvent their sound while remaining in touch with their garage rock and blues roots.[13][14] A positive review from Pitchfork called the album "lively, fresh and colorful."[10] A mixed review from Slant Magazine felt the guest musicians caused The Black Keys to be lost in their own album, and criticized the song "Beautiful People (Stay High)" for sounding as if it was AI generated and trying hard to appeal to "lifestyle brands".[12] A mixed review from The Guardian called the album an "underwhelming diffusion of the band's once heady magic."[8] NME in comparison found the album to be too familiar, and stated the album showed how "The Black Keys might have a killer record collection but Ohio Players is the work of a band who are perhaps too good at being themselves."[9]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Is Nowhere" |
| 3:45 |
| 2. | "Don't Let Me Go" |
| 2:35 |
| 3. | "Beautiful People (Stay High)" |
| 2:47 |
| 4. | "On the Game" |
| 4:03 |
| 5. | "Only Love Matters" |
| 3:23 |
| 6. | "Candy and Her Friends" (featuring Lil Noid) |
| 3:25 |
| 7. | "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" |
| 2:28 |
| 8. | "Please Me (Till I'm Satisfied)" |
| 2:45 |
| 9. | "You'll Pay" |
| 2:45 |
| 10. | "Paper Crown" (featuring Beck and Juicy J) |
| 4:18 |
| 11. | "Live Till I Die" |
| 2:24 |
| 12. | "Read Em and Weep" |
| 3:23 |
| 13. | "Fever Tree" |
| 3:05 |
| 14. | "Every Time You Leave" |
| 2:58 |
| Total length: | 44:04 | ||
Note
The Black Keys
Additional musicians
Technical
| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] | 68 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] | 13 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] | 11 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] | 35 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU)[20] | 3 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 10 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 15 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 3 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[24] | 9 |
| Irish Albums (OCC)[25] | 43 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] | 45 |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[27] | 95 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] | 18 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[29] | 74 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[30] | 21 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] | 6 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] | 23 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] | 2 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[34] | 13 |
| USBillboard 200[35] | 26 |
| USTop Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard)[36] | 7 |
It's an all-bases approach that doesn't feel so much like an identity crisis as a slightly underwhelming diffusion of the band's once heady magic.
The Black Keys might have a killer record collection but Ohio Players is the work of a band who are perhaps too good at being themselves.
Even the presence of rappers Lil Noid and Juicy J on "Candy and Her Friends" and "Paper Crown" recalls Blakroc, the duo's 2009 excursion into rap-rock, yet the fact that Black Keys have explicitly carved space for hip-hop on Ohio Players goes a long way in explaining why the album doesn't feel like a retread. Instead of siloing their interests, the group synthesizes them, making a record that feels lively, fresh, and colorful.
Pals like Beck and Noel Gallagher help the garage-rock duo make one of their best LPs
A couple of tracks even sound A.I.-generated, none more so than the shockingly cynical 'Beautiful People (Stay High),' which feels like an attempt to reverse engineer the brief era when the music in every car commercial either ripped off or actually was a song from Brothers or El Camino.
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| Studio albums |
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| EPs and mini-LPs |
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| Collaborative albums |
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| Singles |
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| Other releases |
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| Related |
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