'' Turn Blue '' received generally favorable reviews from music critics . According to review aggregator Metacritic , the album has an average critic review score of 72/100 , based on 39 reviews . Andy Gill of '' The Independent '' gave the album five stars , saying it " employs much the same formula of catchy , hook-laden melodies harnessed to tank-tread riffs that made its predecessor so irresistible " . Gill praised the record 's " ever-expanding diversity of appeal ... that should win new fans and please the faithful . " Bud Scoppa of '' Uncut '' gave the record four stars ; contrasting his judgment of '' El Camino '' as a collection of " in-your-face , one-listen rockers " , he called '' Turn Blue '' " largely midtempo , moody , lush in places , and deeply soulful " . Scoppa opined that despite the risk in following up '' El Camino '' with " something more challenging " with " nuanced soundscapes " , '' Turn Blue '' " turns out to be their sneakiest , subtlest and most seductive " album . In a four-and-a-half-star review , David Fricke of '' Rolling Stone '' called '' Turn Blue '' the " best , most consistently gripping album the Keys have ever made " . In addition to praising Danger Mouse 's production , Fricke was complimentary of the band for expanding its musical palette , saying the album is a " genuine turning point – into a decisively original rock , with a deeper shade of blues " . Alexis Petridis of '' The Guardian '' rated the album four stars , saying that the Black Keys " have matured into a band capable of drawing all kinds of music into their own orbit " without " sound ing incoherent " . He believed that the interplay between Auerbach and Carney was unaffected by their musical aspirations and said " the result is polished and commercial , without feeling craven or compromised , an impressive stunt to pull off . " Kyle Anderson of '' Entertainment Weekly '' gave the record a B and judged it to be more psychedelic than previous records by the group due to the influence of Danger Mouse ; Anderson said the album " sounds more like an extension of Burton 's Broken Bells side project ... than the follow-up to the Keys ' muscular , arena-ready 2011 best-seller , '' El Camino '' . " Summarizing the album , he said , " it 's meticulously executed but slightly ( and sleepily ) monochromatic " . Keith Cameron of '' Mojo '' rated the album three stars , criticizing the release for its " diminishing returns " and believing the duo " eschewed a blank reiteration ... with mixed results " , but he still believed they " know which notes to hit " . Barry Nicolson of '' NME '' , scoring the album a six-out-of-ten , was critical of Danger Mouse 's growing influence on the band , writing " there 's a nagging sense that their collaboration – beneficial though it 's been for all involved – has run its course " . Nicolson said that although he enjoyed parts of the album , " it 's a cruel irony that the heaviest hand in Dan Auerbach 's warts-and-all confessional sometimes seems to belong to his producer " . Larry Fitzmaurice of '' Pitchfork '' echoed these sentiments , saying that Burton 's " reign of boredom continues here in typical fashion . " Fitzmaurice said the music " sounds distant and subdued , a murky-sounding collection of '70s stoner-rock facsimiles and swirling gray tones that , for the most part , are indistinguishable " . The review questioned " how invested these guys actually are in the music they 're making . " '' Turn Blue '' appeared on many critics ' end-of-year lists of the best albums of 2014 . '' Rolling Stone '' ranked it as the third-best album of 2014 , calling it " the sound of America 's most innovative arena rockers in full command " . '' Mojo '' placed the record 34th on its list of the " 50 Best Albums of 2014 " . '' The Telegraph '' ranked the record the 11th-best of the year , while '' Q '' placed it at number 41 on its list . For the 57th Annual Grammy Awards , '' Turn Blue '' was nominated for Best Rock Album , while " Fever " received nominations for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song
57th Annual Grammy Awards
57th Annual Grammy Awards
Turn Blue (album)