Ohio Players (album)

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. It was preceded by lead single "Beautiful People (Stay High)" on January 12, 2024, and the second single "I Forgot to Be Your Lover", a cover of William Bell's 1968 song of the same title.

Critical reception

The album currently has a Metacritic score of 76, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Rolling Stone stated the presence of guest musicians such as Beck and Noel Gallagher made Ohio Players "one of their best LPs". Several reviews positively noted the Black Keys' ability to reinvent their sound while remaining in touch with their garage rock and blues roots. A positive review from Pitchfork called the album "lively, fresh and colorful." 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". A mixed review from The Guardian called the album an "underwhelming diffusion of the band's once heady magic." 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."

Track listing

Note

• "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" is a cover of the song of the same name, written by William Bell and Booker T. Jones and performed by Bell.

Personnel

The Black Keys

• Dan Auerbach – lead vocals, bass, electric guitar, production (all tracks); Moog (tracks 6, 8, 10); claps, drum machine (6, 10); Mellotron, shaker (6); Hammond organ (9), vocoder (10)
• Patrick Carney – claps, drum machine, drums, production (all tracks); electric guitar (tracks 1, 3, 4, 9, 14), tambourine (1, 5, 9, 12), Moog (1, 6, 9, 10, 13), Mellotron (2, 5), shaker (5, 9, 12), cowbell (5, 9), synthesizer (12)

Additional musicians

Technical

Charts

References