The Black Keys Peaches!
The Black Keys's Peaches! returns the duo to a raw, Mississippi Hill Country-flavored blues that critics say often hits with urgent charm even as parts of the covers set feel overstuffed. Across professional reviews, the record earned a 78.22/100 consensus score from 9 reviews, and reviewers consistently point to a han
The best song(s) are the album’s slower, "stellar" numbers because they fit snugly into the album’s flawless pacing.
The best song, 'Nobody But You Baby', stands out for its mystical swagger and particularly deep groove.
Best for listeners looking for blues-rock revival and grime and swagger, starting with You Got to Lose and Where There's Smoke, There's Fire.
Explore the full Chorus artist page, discography, and related genre paths.
See where this record sits inside the full critic-ranked discography.
See how Peaches! stacks up against No Rain, No Flowers on Chorus's 0-100 critic-consensus scale, including review depth and standout tracks.
Jump from this record into the broader critic-consensus lists for 2026.
Full consensus notes
The Black Keys's Peaches! returns the duo to a raw, Mississippi Hill Country-flavored blues that critics say often hits with urgent charm even as parts of the covers set feel overstuffed. Across professional reviews, the record earned a 78.22/100 consensus score from 9 reviews, and reviewers consistently point to a handful of tracks as the album's true sparks.
Critics praise the best songs on Peaches! for their live-in-the-room immediacy and garage-blues grit: “You Got to Lose”, “Tomorrow Night” and “Nobody But You Baby” recur as standout tracks, with mentions also for “Where There's Smoke, There's Fire” and “Who’s Been Foolin' You”. Reviews from Mojo, Classic Rock and Clash celebrate the record's cathartic one-take urgency, snarling slide guitar and raw production that reclaim the Keys' amp-driven DNA. Beats Per Minute and Far Out applaud the emotional pulse and improvisational energy that give some covers revitalised life.
At the same time several critics register reservations: Pitchfork and Paste argue that crowded arrangements, extra personnel and occasional meandering takes sap momentum, making parts of the set feel predictable rather than revelatory. The consensus suggests Peaches! is a craft-forward, comfort-driven homage to blues predecessors - not a radical reinvention - but one that contains essential, electrifying moments. For readers asking whether Peaches! is worth listening to, the critical reception points to a rewarding listen for fans of raw blues-rock and standout covers, while those seeking bold new directions may find it uneven. The reviews below unpack those tensions track by track.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
You Got to Lose
6 mentions
"The rockingest moment is a rip through Ike Turner’s Chicago-blues scorcher “You Got to Lose,"— Rolling Stone
Where There's Smoke, There's Fire
5 mentions
"their reimagining of Willie Griffin’s crate-digger gem “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” turns a spooky shimmy into something with the haunted intensity"— Rolling Stone
Tomorrow Night
4 mentions
"the inclusion of two Junior Kimbrough numbers — Nobody But You Baby and Tomorrow Night — are hardly surprising"— Classic Rock Magazine
The rockingest moment is a rip through Ike Turner’s Chicago-blues scorcher “You Got to Lose,
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Where There's Smoke, There's Fire
Stop Arguing Over Me
Who’s Been Foolin' You
It’s a Dream
Tomorrow Night
You Got to Lose
Tell Me You Love Me
She Does It Right
Fireman Ring the Bell
Nobody But You Baby
Get the next albums worth your time.
Critic-backed picks in one clean digest. No clutter.
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 15 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
The Black Keys sound like they’re reveling in the mud on Peaches!, and the reviewer salutes tracks that carry that brazen youthfulness - the record’s slow numbers and infectious grooves stand out. The prose singles out the album’s unexpected falsetto and classic melodies, which makes the best tracks feel both polished and raw.
Key Points
-
The best song(s) are the album’s slower, "stellar" numbers because they fit snugly into the album’s flawless pacing.
-
The album’s core strengths are its grime-and-swagger blues-rock revival and an R&B-infused, sexy polish that feels genuine.
Themes
Critic's Take
The Black Keys return to the grit that made them vital on Peaches!, and the best songs on the album prove it. Tracks like “You Got to Lose” and “Who’s Been Foolin' You” are raw, urgent highlights, where the duo sound ferocious and unencumbered. The closer pair, “Fireman Ring The Bell” and “Nobody But You Baby”, provide a satisfying one-two punch, the former a sweeping blues jam and the latter a slicker seven-minute coda. Overall, the record reads as a triumphant, cathartic return that balances rough garage energy with refined musicianship.
Key Points
-
“You Got to Lose” stands out as the album’s fiercest, a fast, dirty blues rocker and likely live staple.
-
The album’s core strength is a return to garage-blues basics, blending raw energy with refined musicianship.
Themes
Cl
Critic's Take
The Black Keys return to the raucous roots on Peaches!, and the best songs on the album - notably “Nobody But You Baby” and “Tomorrow Night” - showcase a mystical swagger and deep groove that feels revitalised. The reviewer revels in how “Where There's Smoke, There's Fire” becomes an electrified jolt and “You Got to Lose” is slashed and torn in a midnight rumble, restoring the band’s filthy amp-driven DNA. Recorded largely live with minimal overdubs, the top tracks carry an urgency and intimacy that makes them the clear standouts on Peaches!. This is exactly the raw, gloriously unrefined sound the band needed, and it makes the album’s best tracks truly sing.
Key Points
-
The best song, 'Nobody But You Baby', stands out for its mystical swagger and particularly deep groove.
-
The album’s core strengths are live-recorded urgency, raw distortion, and faithful yet inventive reinterpretations of blues sources.
Themes
Fa
Critic's Take
The Black Keys return on Peaches! sounding like a band rediscovering comfort in chaos, and the record’s best tracks crystallise that feeling. There is also attention paid to “It’s a Dream” for its tinny mouth organ, but the piece insists this is an album you inhabit rather than cherry-pick. The tone is affectionate and admiring, presenting the best songs on Peaches! as moments within a raw, improvised whole.
Key Points
-
The best song, "Tomorrow Night", stands out for its braggadocious guitar solo and is named the standout track.
-
The album's core strength is its raw, improvised bluesy emotion that makes it best experienced as a whole.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his typically observant, slightly elegiac tone Danny Eccleston hears The Black Keys reconnecting with the rough-hewn pleasures of the blues on Peaches!, and he singles out the album’s nastier covers as its best tracks. He praises “You Got To Lose” for being "attacked with anarchic gusto" and applauds “Tomorrow Night” for Auerbach’s "snarling, reverb-laden guitar" spiraling out of control, both framed as the record’s high points. Eccleston frames these moments as cathartic and urgent rather than nostalgic, arguing that the band play the material "like the blazes" and so reclaim their grit. The result, in his view, is that the best songs on Peaches! truly feel lived-in and immediate, proof that the Keys still make thrilling, raw music.
Key Points
-
You Got To Lose is the album's best song for its anarchic gusto and reclaiming of raw garage-blues energy.
-
Peaches! succeeds by privileging urgent, lived-in performances and homages to hill country blues over polished pop.
Themes
Re
Critic's Take
Grant Sharples hears spark and slog on Peaches!. He praises the raw soloing on She Does It Right while arguing the crowded arrangements often smother those moments. He describes the seven-minute take on Nobody But You Baby as meandering and thinks the band turns You Got to Lose into a questionable, interchangeable exercise. He also calls the version of Stop Arguing Over Me by-the-numbers and notes that added percussion on Fireman Ring the Bell further muddies the mix.
Key Points
-
The best song, “She Does It Right”, stands out for raw soloing that still struggles against an overcrowded mix.
-
The album's core strengths are spontaneous, live-in-the-room performances that are undermined by excessive personnel and poor editing.
Themes
Critic's Take
The Black Keys lean into rootsy covers on Peaches!, and the best songs land where their garage-blues grit meets careful craft. The record feels like a band-of-brothers exercise in perseverance, recorded with raw one-take urgency yet lovingly burnished, which is why these two interpretations stand out. Even in quieter moments the Keys make an echoing noise that keeps the strongest tracks resonant.
Key Points
-
“You Got to Lose” is the album's high-octane standout for its Chicago-blues rip and urgency.
-
Peaches! succeeds by returning to back-to-basics blues covers, recorded with one-take immediacy and warm polish.
Themes
Critic's Take
The review insists that on Peaches! the Black Keys' best tracks - notably “You Got to Lose” and “Nobody But You Baby” - actually flicker with life amid an otherwise staid covers set. Grayson Haver Currin writes with a weary, exacting cadence, arguing that “You Got to Lose” is "electrifying" while the seven-minute “Nobody But You Baby” is "languid and heartsick" and finally gives Auerbach something to say. The tone is elegiac and impatient, pitching praise for those moments against a larger diagnosis that the record is "weirdly free of feeling." This keeps the answer to searches for the best songs on Peaches! grounded in the reviewer's clear stands rather than idle hype.
Key Points
-
The best song is "You Got to Lose" because the band injects real conviction and rhythmic invention into the performance.
-
The album's core strength is occasional bursts of genuine feeling amid otherwise staid, studio-polished covers.
Themes
Critic's Take
I cannot find any discussion of specific songs from The Black Keys on Peaches! in this review text, so there are no identified best tracks or best songs on Peaches! to highlight in the reviewer’s voice. The review is a miscellany of festival and band news rather than a focused album critique. Because the reviewer does not address individual tracks, a track-by-track appraisal of Peaches! is not possible from this text.
Key Points
-
No individual track from Peaches! is discussed, so no best song can be determined from this review.
-
The review's core strength is broad music-industry reportage, not album analysis.
Critic's Take
The Black Keys sound revitalised on Peaches!, and the best songs on Peaches! The record's devotion to R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough gives those standout covers an authenticity that makes them the best tracks here. The result is a covers album that feels raw, telepathic and, simply put, fantastic.
Key Points
-
The album's core strengths are raw, telepathic covers that channel Mississippi Hill Country blues with revitalised energy.
Themes
Critic's Take
Phoebe Hedges writes with measured, slightly critical affection: The Black Keys' return on Peaches! is a reclamation of their roots that delivers reliable highlights rather than surprises. The review insists the best tracks on Peaches! sparkle for their simplicity and swagger, even as the album occasionally slips into predictable territory. Ultimately Hedges frames these songs as strong examples of craft - enjoyable, confidently played, but not revolutionary.
Key Points
-
The best song is praised for cool, radio-ready hooks and chart success, exemplifying the album's strengths.
-
The album's core strengths are confident simplicity and a return-to-roots sound, tempered by predictability.
Themes
Sp
Critic's Take
This review does not discuss specific songs from Peaches!, so there is no clear list of the best songs on Peaches! to surface. The writer focuses on Michael Cera's intimate, home-recorded approach rather than singling out tracks from The Black Keys album, leaving readers without guidance about the best tracks on Peaches!. Because no Black Keys tracks are analyzed in the text, definitive rankings or recommendations for best songs on Peaches! cannot be responsibly offered here.
Key Points
-
No individual tracks from Peaches! are discussed, so no best-song determination can be made from this review.
-
The review emphasizes intimacy and home-recording charm rather than track-level critique.
Critic's Take
This review does not discuss individual songs from Peaches!, so there is no clear list of the best tracks on the album. The piece focuses on tour news and a botched Kings of Leon show rather than evaluating The Black Keys or naming songs from Peaches!. Because the reviewer never addresses tracks like “Where There's Smoke, There's Fire” or “Stop Arguing Over Me” in the text, we cannot identify best songs on Peaches! from this review.
Key Points
-
No specific track is identified as best because the review does not discuss album songs.
-
The review's core strength is reporting touring and incident details rather than musical analysis.