Another day, another dollar: another year, another record from The Black Keys. It’s generally accepted that Auerbach and Carney are a duo past their prime, with records like 2022’s ‘Dropout Boogie’ and 2024’s ‘Ohio Players’ releasing to an increasingly mixed (or even out-and-out negative) response— for whatever reason, the band were never the same after the five year hiatus they took following 2014’s ‘Turn Blue.’ 2026’s ‘Peaches!,’ then, will have you asking one all-important question: wait, is this actually good?

‘Peaches!’ boldly separates itself from the other records making up the modern Black Keys catalogue, and not just because it’s a compilation of covers. For the first time in years, Auerbach’s guitars have been stripped of their typical glossy finish, letting a crunchy distortion come through once again: you can imagine what harm an overly slick style of presentation might’ve done to lead single ‘You Got to Lose,’ which is only made so overwhelmingly fun by the off-the-chain nature of its screeching lead parts and bouncy drum patterns. Auerbach has himself always been a competent producer, but ‘Peaches!’ almost harkens back to the sound Danger Mouse brought to 2011’s ‘El Camino’— comparing this new crop of tracks to last year’s ‘No Rain, No Flowers,’ at least on an aesthetic level, feels like waking up from a bad dream. It really cannot be overstated how essential those raw tones and loose performances are to selling a track as simple as ‘It’s a Dream,’ which works to sweep you away by the outright efficacy of its grooves.

It’s difficult to declare ‘Peaches!’ a turning point for The Black Keys given its purpose as a covers record: the band have done this before on 2021’s ‘Delta Kream,’ after all, and that album didn’t exactly turn the ship around. If this release does end up standing alone, surrounded by projects like ‘Ohio Players’ and ‘No Rain, No Flowers,’ that’ll only be more reason to celebrate the amount of energy and charm packed into this thing. Oftentimes, it can feels like bands use covers to bide time between proper studio releases— for Auerbach and Carney, we’re at the point where their original records leave us waiting for more explosive blues rock reimaginings. ‘Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire’ is a fairly lowkey track on the face of it, skulking along is such an easygoing manner as it does: beneath the hood though, the duo are bringing a passion that adds an unmistakable momentum to the number, and that right there is the ingredient we’ve been missing from this band for a while now.

This record houses some of the most electrifying material The Black Keys has offered up in years, straightforward as a lot of it may be. The howling lead lines of ‘She Does It Right’ and the loveable blues rock stomp that permeates ‘Fireman Ring the Bell’ are prime examples of how firmly the duo have returned to their element, sauntering through these cuts with a long lost confidence— you can honestly hear how much fun they were having recording ‘You Got to Lose,’ which is easily the most dazzling inclusion here. Even when ‘Peaches!’ goes in a smoother, sultrier direction though, The Black Keys keep their eye firmly on the satisfying grooves and tried-and-true rock’n’roll standards you know and love them for. There’s a comforting charm to the old school style of ‘Stop Arguing Over Me’ and ‘Who’s Been Foolin’ You’ that’ll put a smile on your face, even if the band aren’t necessarily covering the most jaw-dropping songs here. It’s easy to draw comparisons between the calm blues licks of closer ‘Nobody But You Baby’ and some of Auerbach and Carney’s modern material— doing so proves how effortlessly ‘Peaches!’ dominates that discussion.

The disquieting reality is that the best Black Keys album since 2014’s ‘Turn Blue’ is a covers record: ah well, we’ll take what we can get. The duo took a big risk by making their latest project’s title a synonym for *ss, but it’s one that’s paid off in spades— ‘Peaches!’ exudes a brightness we haven’t heard from these two in years, doing a hell of a lot of justice to these blues rock classics. Perhaps we might even be foolish enough to wonder if Auerbach and Carney can take this style forward into their next studio album: lord knows we’ve been patient.