Let’s Rock

NONESUCH / WARNER

After a punishing five year hiatus, The Black Keys are finally back in action. Unfortunately, though, they’re nowhere near as good as they were at the turn of the decade.

Let’sRock lives up to its title – curt, fizzy guitars and clanging drums build the foreground, background, and every ground in-between – but it’s drowsily one-note; if you’re not actively paying attention, the songs tend to mesh and melt together without anything cool or interesting to set them apart. And at a petite 38 minutes, the amount of filler to wade through here is truly dismal. Alas, not all is amiss: the crumbly, casual guitar hooks are decent at the worst of times, and the layered, off-kilter percussion adds a great deal of fun to some cuts.