Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s shift as the biggest band in the world is a memory, and those kinds of numbers will not happen again (it’s telling that the arena dates in support of “Ohio Players” were downsized to us-yet-unscheduled ‘intimate’ venues). But with a dip in commercial fortunes often comes artistic freedom, and this twelfth album fizzes with the joy of its creation, which saw the duo travel the world, indulging in what Carney called “fun shit” and roping in wish-list collaborators such as Beck and Noel Gallagher.
The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney long ago dropped the pretense of operating as a duo, and “Beautiful People (Stay High)” sounds like a big-budget alt-rock anthem befitting its seven credited co-writers, most notably Beck. That’s not necessarily a bad thing: The “na na na” backing vocals and auxiliary brass and keyboard contributions elevate the song’s funky blues-rock strut. It may not be a literal arena-sized banger, but it’s the work of a band that proudly busted out of the garage a long time ago.
Inspired by their sideline in riotous DJ parties, the masterstroke was getting rid of any song they deemed “too mid-tempo or sad”, and the resulting album is a floor-filling blast, from the hairy funk of “This Is Nowhere” to the heart-racing soul of “Beautiful People (Stay High)”. Screw the sales, let’s dance.
The Fat Angel Sings 
Now this his dance music