Customer Reviews

Brothers

5 star:		(126)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I gotta be honest. I'm 43. I'm a mom to two teenagers. I work full time.... I'm TIRED. Not a LOT makes me feel like I'm 19 again. But dang y'all - this album is un-frikkin-believable. These boys make music that is solid, tight, and AMAZING. I haven't been THIS excited about an album (see, there I go, dating myself by using words like "album") since "Icky Thump".

Go out and get yourself a copy of "Brothers". (Heck, get 2 copies and give one away. Share the love.)
Gives me HOPE for the American music scene when we have incredible young musicians like The Black Keys at the helm.

Rock on, boys...

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.

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.

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.

I'd heard these guys on KEXP a few times in the past, and thought that if they got a full band sound
behind them it'd be wonderful. The minimalist thing can only go so far.. well they certainly hit the nail
on the head with this album. It's got a sort of nostalgic yet totally original feel. Every song keeps me
interested.. and there are a lot more songs on the CD than the sleeve suggests. I can't really categorize
the disc, it's sort of White Stripes meets Lenny Kravitz with the studio precision of NIN and all rolling around
in the bed of some '65 pick up truck down south.. or not. It's hard to tell it grabs me every time.

I suppose there are only so many ways you can iterate blues progressions and drums and keep it from becoming stale, something the Black Keys seemed to have realized awhile ago. As you go through the albums of the Black Keys you can hear a material maturation of both the music and the lyrics. Understandably, at some point the Black Keys must have gotten bored with using the same old formula, beginning with a few tracks here and there and progressing with Attack & Release and now Brothers.

That being said, there are still some very good blues based tracks on this album both stripped down and some with added substance and depth. I commend the Black Keys for doing what a lot of blues purists (both musicians and fans) refuse to do, step outside of their sandbox and explore elsewhere. The soul of the Black Keys is still evident in this album, but they have strayed away from their roots which will upset some, but is reasonable to me. I don't feel it's a ploy to gain more mainstream recognition, but of course I could be wrong. Either way I'm happy this talented tandem is getting a little attention.

"Sinister Kid," "Ten Cent Pistol," "She's Long Gone," and "Howlin' for You," are my favorites. Rubber Factory will likely always remain my favorite Black Keys album, but Brothers is a worthy installment to the Black Keys' catalog. I would have liked to have given this album 3.5 stars, but I suppose Amazon wants you to man up and make a decision. After listening to "These Days" and "The Go Getter" again I made my choice. Three stars.

If you are a fan of the earlier Black Keys albums and didn't like "Attack and Release", then chances are you won't like this one, either. Having said that, I have to say that they have come a long way since the release of their first album "The Big Come Up" in 2002, and this is their best release, yet. True, it's not as high-energy as the earlier releases, but I think the guys have shown how much they've matured, musically.

There is much more R&B and soul-influenced material on this album. It shows a deeper, more soulful, side of the band, in my opinion, and I like it. You could close your eyes and swear it was 1972, yet the music sounds fresh. They channel all of the funkiness of early '70's funk, soul, blues and R&B without sounding dated. How they can sound old, yet sound new at the same time, is beyond me! It's not as stripped-down and raw as the earlier albums, but it still has that funky, dirty, dark sound that you'd expect to hear on a Black Keys album. Growing up in cold, economically-depressed Akron, Ohio had something to do with that, no doubt.

Glad to see that these guys are still going strong, and I'm proud to say that they're from my home state of Ohio!

After hearing much hype, particularly surrounding the album Attack and Release, I decided to finally purchase a Black Keys album. After purchasing and listening to the exceptional Brothers, I found myself wanting to `kick myself' for not purchasing and getting into The Black Keys sooner. There is not a dull moment on this effort, which finds superb, bluesy arrangements/productions executed by the band and superb, bluesy vocals sang by frontman Dan Auerbach. ' Brothers' is Grammy-worthy by all means, and I hope that the band receives a nod for this finely constructed effort.

"Everlasting Life" opens up the album off to a brilliant start, finding a nice soulful, bluesy groove setting the tone for the cut and the album itself. Here, a folk-roots rock connection is alluded to given the use of tambourine, mixed with a minimalistic groove. Auerbach's vocals are exceptional, adding a soulful dimension to this indie-rock cut. Follow-up "Next Girl" is equally alluring, keeping the `roots-rock' feel alive. The songwriting is superb, with a simple, but enjoyable hook: "my next girl, will be nothing like my ex-girl/I made mistakes back then, I'll never do it again." Also noteworthy is that The Black Keys have a great feel for the importance of space in a song, and they do not rush the pacing of the lyrics.

"Tighten Up" features exceptional gritty lead vocals by Dan Auerbach (kudos to the vocal production work here) and another well developed, standout groove. The guitars sound top-notch throughout, playing a big contributing factor to the effectiveness of the cut, not to mention a taste of organ. "Howlin' For You" keeps up the pace with a cliché drum groove that works great here. The use of keyboards here add even more to the consummate musicianship of The Black Keys. "Howlin' for You" is as consistent as everything else. "She's Long Gone" features a superb guitar solo, easily channeling the sound and vibe of blues-rock and classic rock and roll. "Black Mud," an instrumental cut, fits perfectly into the pacing and overall feel of this album, allowing this musically talented group to show off their great skill.

"The Only One" is another well mixed/engineered number. Here, Auerbach's vocals are hushed here, contrasting his usually overt vocals. The band remains focused on minimalist progressions and grooves, adding tasteful touches of other instrumentation and sounds to vary the overall timbre. "Too Afraid To Love You" features a nice full bass line and a completely different timbre - aided greatly through the keyboard work. Auerbach's vocals are fully present and overt as ever on this cut where there is really nothing to quibble about.

"Ten Cent Pistol" continues the band's thriving on simple harmonic progressions. Organ and bluesy guitar playing help to shape this cut. "Sinister Kid" features the prodigious knack of spacing by the band, not to mention more superb production work and songwriting. "The Go Getter" is an oddity, though in a positive sense, as the groove takes a couple of seconds to really settle in the listener's ears. Here, the groove changes, which is a nice effect. "I'm Not The One" is a solid as everything else, though not necessarily as creative.

"Unknown Brother" shows some brilliant guitar work, with the constantly repeating riff standing out. This cut has a happier vibe than previous cuts, marking a nice change of pace. Soul cover "Never Gonna Give Up" finds the band intelligently recreating the 1970s soul sound nearly perfectly. Auerbach's vocals capture the grit of 1970s soul superbly here. Closing cut "These Days" slows down the tempo and finds Auerbach's once overt vocals once again withdrawn (though always nuanced). The refrain here is clever, and also marks a change of intensity about the final cut: "These blood red eyes/don't see so good/but what's worse is if they could/would I change my ways?" While this cut is one of the longer cuts on the album, the length does not play a factor because the band draws you into their superb, masterful performance. "These Days" is by all means an engineering masterwork if nothing else.

What else can you say about one of the best albums of the year? This album is at the top of my list for one of 2010's best efforts by all means. '

I'm a bit new to the Keys. My first record of theirs was Attack and Release. With that record, it only took me two minutes into the first track "All You Ever Wanted" to know that the Keys were my new favorite band. Likewise, with Brothers- from the first seconds of the first track "Everlasting Light" - I knew I was gonna love this record. And having owned it now for only about two days, it's been in steady, constant rotation. It's a total classic. Blues, rock, soul, simmer, r&b, roadhouse shakers... man... the Keys just melt it all down into an amazing musical gumbo. Standouts for me are Sinister Kid, Tighten Up, Next Girl, The Go-Getter, She's Long Gone, Ten Cent Pistol, and of course their awesome cover of Isaac Hayes Never Gonna Give You Up. This whole album is deeeep. Buy it ya'll.

Consistant with the marketing theme of this album, I wish the Black Keys would have put that warning on the cover as well. Sorry, but honestly I love the Black Keys for one thing: dirty riff based hard rockin' blues!! I know that seems selfish and closed minded, but truthfully on earlier albums I'd listen to their occasional ballads a couple times but they would soon be quickly skipped to get to the good stuff. I've got nothing against ballads or bands expanding and evolving, but for some reason when the Black Keys would try it on previous albums, it just didn't click with me. That said, however, this may be the first Black Keys album that actually may give me pause and make me listen to their mellow side. The "WARNING" of course is directed at the many fans like myself because when I first put on this album on my way to work and heard the first several songs I thought "YES! The Black Keys are back doing what they do best...full on ROCK!" I couldn't wait to hear the rest of it! Little did I know that the rest of it would be part mid-tempo hip-hop style tunes followed by even mellower bluesy soul ballads. With each passing song I kept hoping the next one would rock but I couldn't help but be disappointed when they didn't. Had I been "warned" I may have been more open to giving the rest of the album its due. Now, after a couple subsequent listens, I can say that the latter half does have a lot of good songs worth digging into, even for fans like myself. The midtempo stuff is very cool. It makes me curious to check out their BlacRoc side project. As for the mellow tunes that close out the album, they aren't soft rock songs like bad Peter Cetera ballads or the band Bread. They're still very much Black Keys songs-soulful, but gritty with a rough edge. I may still long for the Black Keys circa "Rubber Fatory," I still think its by far what they do best. However, fans of the early stuff will get a dose of that with this album and it may be the first to prove to everyone that there is more to dig about the Black Keys.