The Black Keys: Attack & Release

There's a good reason that most rock bands aren't

duos—the sonic palette dries up quickly. Blues-rock tandem The Black Keys

appeared to max out its potential on 2004's Rubber Factory, eschewing the primitivism

of its previous releases and embracing full-bodied arena-rock stomp. At that

point, The Black Keys should have hired a bassist, a second guitarist, and a

boogie-woogie keyboardist and become this generation's Bad Company. Instead,

The Black Keys tapped producer Danger Mouse to bring some sonic variety to Attack

& Release, a

tacit admission that the two-man blooze formula had finally worn thin on 2006's

samey Magic Potion.

So what does a Danger Mouse and Black Keys collaboration sound like At its

best, it sounds like "Psychotic Girl," which pares the band's usual riff-heavy

bluster down to a slinky guitar, sleepy drums, and Dan Auerbach's lustful

moaning, and lays it on a bed of disembodied voices and psychedelic banjo

plunking. Here, Danger Mouse helps deconstruct and reassemble The Black Keys

into something fresher than the sum of their overly familiar parts. Attack

& Release falters

on the rockers, which sound like the same old Keys, for better or worse. But

when Danger Mouse coaxes out the band's soul side on the slow 'n' sexy "All You

Ever Wanted," The Black Keys suddenly find a way around their self-imposed

restrictions.