Sometimes the best way to get back on the right path is to revisit your past and figure out what went missing. Retracing your steps can be enlightening and shake something loose in your heart and your approach. That’s the direction The Black Keys are taking on their recently released single, “You Got to Lose,” a cover of George Thorogood & The Destroyers’ 1977 version of an Earl Hooker song.
The song arrives alongside the announcement of a new covers album, their first since Delta Kream in 2021. The band mixed the record themselves, and it’s refreshing to hear them sounding so bluesy, dirty, and grungy again. It feels like rekindling a long‑lost friendship. Dan Auerbach’s guitar playing has that loud, emotive tone we’ve come to expect without sacrificing melody, while Patrick Carney’s drumming stomps all over the track – a jolt‑per‑second reminder of what The Black Keys can do when they’re at their best.
Not long ago, The Black Keys were one of the biggest rock bands in the world, but in 2024 they were humbled by poor ticket sales for their arena tour and ultimately scrapped the outing. Last year, they began a kind of comeback trail by rediscovering what made them tick and what had worked for so long: scuzzy, overdriven, punchy blues rock ’n’ roll. Peaches!, their 14th album, arrives May 1st, and if this first single is any indication, The Black Keys are on their way to reclaiming their place in the upper echelon of rock music.
“You Got to Lose” is released ahead of The Black Keys’ upcoming album, Peaches!, out May 1st, 2026 via Easy Eye Sound/Warner. Preorder available here.
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