Brothers

 "Loving you, baby child..."
Let me just start off by saying that I found out about The Black Keys WAY too late.  I consider myself pretty up to date with solid artists that are out there.  A couple of my friends had mentioned them and said how great they were and I had no idea who they were talking about.  A few times I actually said, "Do you mean The Black Kids?"  No, they didn't, The Black Keys are an entirely different band.  Their new album "Brothers" was one of the more highly anticipated albums for early 2010 and it did not disappoint.  The duo of Daniel Auerbach and Patrick Carney got high scores from reviewers such as Entertainment Weekly (83), Rolling Stone (80), and Pitchfork (77) with an overall Metacritic score of 81, putting it just into the range of a "great" album.

I was originally interested in The Black Keys because of their different rock sound.  At times they sound a little bit like The White Stripes (part of this is likely due to the guitar and drum combination) drawing certain influences from blues and other genres that Jack White has also including in his playing style.  The first album of theirs I listened to was "Attack and Release," which is a great album you should also listen too.  At first I was worried I wasn't going to find any hidden gems in "Brothers" because there are a few songs off of "Attack and Release" (2008) that I really enjoy (its one of the few albums I can listen to over and over again without getting sick of it).  "Brothers," however, undoubtedly has more gems.  This might be because it has four more tracks than "Attack and Release", but that's beside the point.  "Brothers" is easily the duos best album to date.

"Brothers" has an overwhelming feeling of love throughout the album.  Whether its family ties or romantic relationships, most of the songs on the album deal with love from one angle or another.  The Black Keys have released two music videos so far from this album, "Tighten Up" and "Next Girl."  "Tighten Up" can be argued as a sort of love ballad.  It has a fun, bouncy beat with some light hearted whistling at the start of the song.  Auerbach's vocals really help to emphasize a feeling of infatuation the person singing the song has for his "baby child" (arguably my favorite line in the song, mainly because it reminds me of Nicholas Cage in Kick Ass: Hit Girl: "Mhmm... but getting shot, Daddy... it hurt a lot more than when you did it." Big Daddy: "That's because I used low velocity rounds, child... he... he.."; Priceless).  The video they produced for the song even further emphasizes this point, not to mention its a hilarious, endearing video.  "Next Girl" has a bit of a different tone, talking about some whore or so I assume.  It has a heavier beat to it with Auerbach singing "My next girl will be nothing like my ex girl."  Clearly he's torn up about it and is bitter about the break so much so that he begins to blame himself for it.  However, he does see the light in the situation, claiming that "I made mistakes back then, I'll never do it again," and "That was a painful dance and I got a second chance."  The music video for this is out of this world.  Probably the best, most hilarious video I have ever seen in my entire life.  Where "Tighten Up" sort of put the song into context, this video does nothing of the sort.  I would describe it to you, but I'd rather you just watch it and be taken back (I'll include links to the videos at the end of the review).

After having watched both of those videos, I had no idea how hilarious The Black Keys were.  They're definitely an awkward looking bunch, what with Auerbach's mountain man beard and Carney's lanky, almost cartoon-like presence, and that's hilarious in and of itself, but these videos really bring a different light to the group.  However, in saying that, they also have a serious side that isn't in either of the videos they have released for this album.  The best example of this is "Never Gonna Give You Up," which is significantly better than Rick Astley's song of the same title.  This song talks about how the singer can't give up the girl he's with.  No matter what she does, no matter how she treats him, he will never give her up; she's like a drug and he can't quit her, sort of like how Jake Gyllenhaal can't quit Heath Ledger... well, I guess he can now, haha... too soon?  Anyway, the song really makes  you feel for the guy and Auerbach's vocals only strengthen the sentiment.  

Overall, "Brothers" is a solid album.  They manage to keep the flavor that makes them unique while still having a vast amount of variety within the album itself.  Each song has its own personal message and each one can mean a lot to someone.  My personal favorite song off of the album would have to be "Ten Cent Pistol."  It is by far the most unique sounding song and has the most interesting subject matter.  The steady and subtle drum beat accompanied by the twangy guitar riffs almost hearken to a Western sort of atmosphere.  The album also does a good job of setting up a sort of story and atmosphere, starting with the upbeat "Everlasting Light" and ending with the very slow and somber "These Days."  The Black Keys keep true to their roots through "Brothers," yet manage to bring back the unique sound we heard in their 2004 release of "Rubber Factory," their highest reviewed album to date until "Brothers" was released (both scored an 81).  I would highly, highly recommend this album to anyone who has yet to listen to The Black Keys.  It is easily the best album they have ever released.  They seem to be getting more popular as well, which makes me happy, I just hope they don't pull a "Kings of Leon."  I give the album a 92/100.  Take a listen to it here.

 "Tighten Up" video
"Next Girl" video