Realistically, I’m sold from the opening riff, with its little tingle of disco-era Rolling Stones. It’s only a few seconds before the fuzzed-out, thick-bottom blues guitar really kicks in, the blaring alert that “Wild Child” is indeed the Black Keys plying their trade in much the same way they have for two decades now. The duo pays homage to the muddy, howlin’ masters who came before them while adding the stinging ink of a modern tattoo on the leathery skin of the song. It’s sleek and raw and yearning. This is the good stuff.

Dropout Boogie, the new album from the Black Keys, is scheduled for release in May.