| The Black Keys | Primary Artist |
| Nicole Wray | Background Vocals |
| Jerry Butler | Composer |
| Leon Huff | Composer |
| Mark Neill | Producer, Engineer |
| The Black Keys | Composer, Producer |
| Danger Mouse | Producer |
| Dan Auerbach | Engineer |
| Brian Lucey | Mastering |
| Kennie Takahashi | Engineer |
| Kenneth Gamble | Composer |
| Michael Carney | Artwork, Art Direction |
QueenDopamine
Posted October 1, 2010
I Also Recommend:
That's the last time I'm buying an album based soley on a review and a few 30 second samplings. As a huge fan of the Black Keys of the thickfreakness fame, I've come to revere them on any album for their garage-rock blues style and soulful, powerful delivery. It seems though that with their past two albums, the Black Keys have not only turned to new tricks and sounds, they've turned into a whole new band--Gnarles Barkley. That is who I equate them to everytime I listen to Brothers or Attack and Release. Not in a bad way, it's just that they are retro rock blues revivalists in my mind. So for them to add so much piano tinkling and indie poppiness and boistrous drumming, they become different. The difference though between Brothers and Attack and Release is that the latter is instrinsically better. Brothers is wrought with falsetto, dingy-sounding keys, drum beats that sound computer-generated, bad lyrics (Next Girl flows so horribly, how did singer Dan Auerbach not notice?) and poppy-in-a-bad-way melodies. The Only One is grating and sugary. Never Gonna Give You Up should be on a rejected R&B star's album. 10 Cent Pistol is wildly disappointing because simply with that title they could have created a better melody and delivery. However, the one thing it does have that it's predecessor Attack and Release did not is Howlin for You, She's Long Gone and Sinister Kid--three fantastic songs, so great that I wonder how they missed the boat on the rest of the album. Howlin' For You encompasses everything the Keys are and everything I wanted this album to be--blues, energy, rawness, musical genius. She's Long Gone is now one of my top two or three favorite Keys songs, you'll just have to hear it (it's got sex and swagger, what else do you want?). And Sinister Kid is clever writing and catchy, without all the bad-taste-in-the-mouth crap of the other songs. As much as I liked Attack and Release, it doesn't have any songs like these, though the writing and musical construction are overall better. I wouldn't recommend Brothers, but I highly recommend those three songs and even The Go Getter and Black Mud. However, if you're looking for an album with a more robust package to offer, pick up Attack and Release.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BMan80
Posted October 1, 2010
Every time I get a new Black Keys album, I feel a mix of excitement and dread before I play it. I always think "maybe this is the album that they finally disappoint on," but thankfully, that has yet to happen. The first track, Everlasting Light, starts the album off with a bang. Dan is singing in falsetto, which I've never heard, and the beat Pat lays down is pretty wicked. It definitely gets your head bobbing and sets up the rest of the record very well. I actually listened to it two more times before continuing on with the rest of the album. Howlin' for you is another stomper in the same mold as Everlasting Light. There's also a nice 2 minute song called Black Mud where Dan and Pat just jam. There's also a few really good slow songs, like Never Gonna Give You Up, which reminded me of the song You're The One off of Magic Potion. The album also has that same kind of ethereal sound that was on Dan's solo album, Keep It Hid, and there are not as many riff heavy songs as usual. Basically, it's as awesome as every other Black Keys album, and if you don't buy it, then you should punch yourself in the face.
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Editorial Reviews
All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Retreating from the hazy Danger Mouse-fueled pot dream of Attack & Release, the Black Keys headed down to the legendary Muscle Shoals, recording their third album on their own and dubbing it Brothers. The studio, not to mention the artwork patterned after such disregarded Chess psychedelic-era relics as This Is Howlin' Wolf's New Album, are good indications that the tough blues band of the Black Keys earliest records is back, but the group hasn't forgotten what they've learned in their inwardly psychedelic mid-period. Brothers still can get mighty trippy -- the swirling chintzy organ that circles "'The Only One,'" the Baroque harpsichord flair of "'Too ...