Soundbite: Black Keys

Black Keys’ fifth album would have fit squarely into the band’s discography ““ each release an example of the Ohio natives’ signature minimalist take on garage delta blues ““ had Danger Mouse never approached guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney to write songs for an Ike Turner album.

When Turner suddenly died of a heart attack, the Black Keys were left with a handful of songs and the aid of production legend Danger Mouse.

The result, “Attack and Release,” is still comprised of the skeletons of traditional Black Keys songs, but now embellished with organs, vocal harmonies, flutes, banjos and synthesizer mania that elevate the songs into a floatier, more conceptual direction that hasn’t quite crystallized for the band. The songs feel disengaged, filled with instrumentation that doesn’t quite cohere into a recognizable sound.

The melodies and chord progressions serve their purpose ““ occasionally predictable, sometimes hard rocking, but a perfect accompaniment to Auerbach’s drunken and twanging range. Auerbach also deserves credit for playing simultaneously both lead and low-end rhythm guitar.

Evidence of Danger Mouse is everywhere, most abundant in bridges that turn straight-up blues verses into expansive songs, and is often introduced somewhat unsurprisingly around the two-minute mark. In opener “All You Ever Wanted,” that means Carney’s suddenly explosive drumming is drenched with a sweeping organ tune.

“I Got Mine” is structured more traditionally, beginning and ending with clamoring hard rock, but submerges itself briefly and appealingly by the Danger Mouse-accented bridge of electronic beeps and chanting harmonies. Perhaps if the expanded instrumentation were more regularly incorporated, the songs would feel less obviously embellished.

“Strange Times” illustrates that tension. The verses are at once energetic ““ mixing heavily reverbed and crunchy guitar riffs with hand clapping ““ and tiring or claustrophobically bluesy, while the all too brief chorus beautifully melds the lyrical content and atmosphere. Auerbach sings “strange times are here” as Danger Mouse synths up the atmosphere into plaintive and moody territory. But overall, “Strange Times,” like the two aforementioned songs, lacks the power to persuade because of its unevenness.

The album is not without highlights. “Psychotic Girl” feels creepy and woozy throughout. Bits of banjo, piano and vocal harmonies give the song an organic touch that complements the synthesizer-enhanced sense of coming apart that drives and pervades the song. This time, the Black Keys make use of the airtight repetition of verses to imbue the song with a sense of eeriness.

“Attack and Release” is exciting because it proves the Black Keys are a band in progress. While past releases explored a single formula, “Attack and Release” finds the band, prodded by Danger Mouse, exploring and incorporating new instrumentation. Next time, however, the songs will need to be written with that experimentation in mind. The more conceptual the Black Keys go, the more full and persuasive their songs will be.

““ Natalie Edwards

E-mail Edwards at [email protected].