Product Description

The maturation of the Black Keys as record makers and performers has been both subtle and startling. With their 2008 Nonesuch release 'Attack & Release' - the fifth album of their eight-year career which doubled the sales of their previous album and Nonesuch debut 'Magic Potion' - guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney illustrated the durability of their few-frills sound, a mysterious and heavy brew of seventies-vintage rock, classic R&B and timeless, downhearted blues. Producer and pal Danger Mouse, their first outside collaborator, didn't try to reinvent their sound but further isolated its essence with the help of a few carefully chosen guest players and some retro-modern electronic gear. It didn't need to get slicker to get better, or, as the Boston Globe put it, ''Attack & Release' proves that cleaning up the boys still won't stop them from tracking mud all over the house.'

Danger Mouse returned to co-produce 'Tighten Up' on 'Brothers,' but for the most part, the duo was on its own, spending ten days at the legendary Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama and coming up with the an even more intensely focused, deeply soulful set that includes a cover of Jerry Butler's 'Never Gonna Give You Up.' The performances are inventive and impassioned: Auerbach extends his vocal range to falsetto on the lead-off track 'Everlasting Light' and 'The Only One'; 'Howlin' For You' opens with a Gary Glitter-style drum riff and the chorus practically invites singing along. The tunes offer a surprising amount of lyrical candor and more than a little dark humor; the grooves alternate between ballsy swagger and bluesy rumination. The album reflects where Auerbach and Carney have been lately, most recently collaborating with a who's who of New York City MC's, including RZA, Q Tip, Mos Def and Raekwon on the 2009 BlakRoc super-session organized by hip-hop impresario and Black Keys fan Damon Dash. They've also pursued projects on their own, Auerbach with his solo 'Keep It Hid' album and tour, Carney with his band Drummer and its debut disc, 'Feels Good Together.' Their maturation didn't happen just in the studio, though. Carney admits, 'Dan and I grew up a lot as individuals and musicians prior to making this album. Our relationship was tested in many ways but at the end of the day, we're brothers, and I think these songs reflect that.'

'Brothers' was primarily cut in Muscle Shoals, a setting that turned out to have more in common with the Akron, Ohio factories where the Black Keys used to record. The place was desolate, the town depressed, so once again the duo slipped into a world all its own. They did additional recording at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound System in Akron and The Bunker in Brooklyn. The album was mixed by engineer Tchad Blake, a veteran of sessions with Los Lobos, Pearl Jam and Peter Gabriel. Says Carney, 'The way he approaches mixing is the same way we approach making music. Respecting the past while being in the present.'

Track Listing

1. Everlasting Light
2. Next Girl
3. Tighten Up
4. Howlin' For You
5. She's Long Gone
6. Black Mud
7. The Only One
8. Too Afraid To Love
9. Ten Cent Pistol
10. Sinister Kid
11. The Go Getter
12. I'm Not The One
13. Unknown Brother
14. Never Gonna Give You Up
15. These Days

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8 in Music
• Released on: 2010-05-18
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .16 pounds

Customer Reviews

Didn't like it at first, but it gets better with each listen
This album is NOT like Thickfreakness or any of the other early Black keys albums. It is NOT full of raw, high energy, guitar driven songs. "Brothers" is a more complex and layered album. Bass and drums drive most of the songs and the guitars seem to be pushed to the background along with keys to fill the songs out. This makes it sound mellow and that is why I didn't care for it when I first heard it. None of the songs stand out or are as heavy as "Your touch" or "10 a.m. automatic". However, I continued to listen to it and I started to like it more and more. It took a while to grow on me, kind of like a Wilco or Radiohead album. You hear something different each time and start to like songs different reasons, not just because they have a great riff.

Hits the right keys...
I got into the music of Blues Rock duo The Black Keys via their Danger Mouse-produced album "Attack & release". I also loved their Hip Hop collaborative venture Blakroc.

This time around, Danger Mouse produced just one track, the groovy organ-sprinkled tempo-shifting "Tighten up". Everything else was produced by the pair.

I love the sonic diversity among the songs, from the fuzzy falsetto-sung "Everlasting light", the funky Blues "Next girl" (very White Stripes), the psychedelic pair of "She's long gone" and falsetto-sung "The only one", the quivering guitar instrumental "Black mud", the absolutely beautiful harpsichord ballad "Too afraid to love you", the simmering ballad "I'm not the one", and the Sixties Soul-channeling pair of "Unknown brother" and "Never give you up" (the latter a Jerry Butler cover).

What an absolutely fabulous album this is. To those that think there is hardly any good music being made these days, you just need to switch off from top 40 radio and TV and discover gems like this.

Progression
I don't really understand the negative reviews. Just because the band continues to innovate with their music, people act like its a bad thing. I have nothing but admiration for this album and have been listening to it non stop since its arrival. From start to finish, it evokes emotion and sets a mood. I can't pick a favorite track because this is really a whole album that deserves a start to finish listen.