Share

The story of Ohio Players—The Black Keys’ twelfth studio album and a record unlike any other in their long ride through deep blues and soul power—begins on a Saturday in February 2003. Singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney were on the road supporting their debut album, 2002’s The Big Come Up, opening for Sleater-Kinney at New York’s Roseland Ballroom, when the headliners invited them to a party after the gig: the traditional bash following the broadcast of Saturday Night Live with the TV show’s cast and guests.

Originally a raw, visceral blues-rock outfit inspired by the likes of such juke joint rockers as Junior Kimbrough, The Black Keys have expanded their purview after mastering their garagey roar with Rubber Factory in 2004. Making the leap to the major-label Nonesuch, the duo of guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney dove into heady psychedelic territory, sometimes assisted by producer Danger Mouse. The band's collaborations with the adventurous hip-hop producer opened the doors to a variety of sounds, colors, and textures, a broadened palette they'd channel onto sharp songs on their platinum-selling albums Brothers and El Camino, both arriving in the early years of the 2000s. After the trippy 2014 album Turn Blue, the Black Keys took an extended hiatus through the back half of the 2010s, during which time Auerbach set up his Easy Eye Sound studio and label. The duo returned with renewed vigor on 2019's Let's Rock, maintaining that momentum with the blues covers album Delta Kream in 2021 and the hard-grooving, guest-heavy Ohio Players in 2024. – AllMusic.com