New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Black Keys' Ohio Players (Trophy Edition), an expanded version of their latest album, which received two Grammy nominations last week, is out now. You can get it and hear it here. The new release features a two-LP set in a gatefold jacket complete with new tracks, an alternate cover, and new album sequencing. Accompanying the original album's 14 songs are four additional tracks, all featuring the album's signature collaborations that make it unique in the band's catalog. The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney first joined forces with DannyLux on "Mi Tormenta," with rock legend Alice Cooper on "Stay In Your Grave," and with Beck for "I'm With The Band." The expanded edition's fourth new song, "Sin City," co-written by Auerbach and Carney with Greg Kurstin and Beck, who also perform on the track, debuts today.
Uncut called Ohio Players "an album with that infectious quality of sounding like it was a total blast to make … Explosive," adding that it "combines the thickfreak attack of The Black Keys with Beck's bottles-and-cans-and-just-clap-your-hands aesthetic. One of The Black Keys' liveliest and fullest albums." Mojo called it "the most streamlined and tunes-packed Black Keys album since El Camino. The sound of a band rejuvenated," and Rolling Stone proclaims that it is "arguably the sharpest collection of songs the Keys have come up with."
There is also an exclusive Amazon edition of Ohio Players (Trophy Edition), pressed on purple vinyl and including the Amazon Music Original bonus track "Let Love Take Its Time." This marks the first time that Amazon Music has released an Amazon Music Original track digitally and on vinyl simultaneously.
As previously announced, The Black Keys are heading to Latin America in the spring of 2025, bringing their International Players Tour to Lima, Peru; Estereo Picnic festival in Bogota, Colombia; and Mexico City .Additionally, The Black Keys have just added a new date to their LATAM International Players Tour and will perform on April 5 at the Tecate Pa'l Norte Music Festival in Monterrey, Mexico. The Black Keys have also announced that they will take the stage at Innings Festival Arizona on February 22, joining acts such as Fall Out Boy, The Killers, Beck, and more. For details and tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
Upon its release in April 2024, Ohio Players secured The Black Keys the #1 Current Rock Album and #1 Current Alternative Album in US sales. The album soared to the #5 debut of the week on both Billboard's Top Rock Albums Chart and Top Alternative Albums Chart and landed the #4 spot on Overall Current Album Sales. Ohio Players earned The Black Keys their sixth consecutive top 20 album in the UK, and also made it into the top 20 in other international markets such as Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, and more. The album track "Beautiful People (Stay High") was recently nominated for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song Grammy Awards.
Ohio Players, which was inspired by band members Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney's ongoing"record hang" parties, garnered praise from Rolling Stone, which stated, "Whether they set their retro-rock wayback machine to Memphis in the Sixties, the Midwest in the Seventies, or Manchester, England, and L.A. in the Nineties, it all flows together like a beautifully paced DJ set," calling the album "arguably the sharpest collection of songs the Keys have come up with." Ohio Players marked an exciting departure from The Black Keys' prior releases, as the album brings in new and fresh influences while also still containing the widely loved sound that the duo is most known for. With an emphasis on collaboration, the album features contributions from friends and colleagues, including Beck, Noel Gallagher, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, Greg Kurstin, Juicy J, Lil Noid, and others.
