Backing vocals and keyboards are not necessarily something I immediately associate with a Black Keys record. Admittedly, it took me a few listens to get past that and hear what they’re really doing. El Camino is possibly their most commercial-sounding and hook-laden album to date, with Dangermouse on production duties again. Lyrically heavy on the ‘love and loss’ theme, musically it sounds like they’ve been listening to a lot of 70s glam rock à la T-Rex. Yes, it’s perhaps a million miles from their earlier albums, but surely that is something to be applauded. After ten years together they aren’t just making the same record over and over again – they continue to evolve and try new things.

Melissa Whebell is from Readings Hawthorn