Reviews (page 4 of 15)
Enjoyed, a bit repetitive though
Um dos álbuns que marcou a minha adolescência, Black Keya foram a minha banda favorita durante uns tempos
Actually peak. one of the best albums ive ever heard. It's so gritty and full of emotion and energy. The bridge of Howlin' for you is so ethereal its insane.
https://x.com/nocontextmemes/status/2010436883734519907?s=20
really interesting sound, super grimy and gritty, but ultimately it just didnt resonate with me super hard, still cool though
Blues-adjacent radio rock that was easier enough on the ears, but didn't stir anything inside me for the most part. They sound like a lot of bands I like. Being a two piece rock band who are influenced by blues music, the White Stripes are an easy comparison to make. They do not have the energy and passion that you can find on those albums. I can't imagine these guys geeking out over long-dead forgotten musicians like Jack White does. I can also hear some Queens Of The Age too, but lacking the swagger. The big single here is 'Howlin For You' and it is a decent stomper with a chorus you chant along with. I was disappointed to find out that 'Never Going To Give You Up' was not a Rick Astley cover, but instead a cover of an old soul song. These guys do soul pretty well, more so than the blues-driven sound that dominates the album. I never checked these guys when they were in their prime, but it doesn't appear that I missed out on a lot here.
Great album
I didn’t think I knew The Black Keys but I do…. Middle of the road….
Feels repetitive
The Black Keys used to be THE band, man. How did they fall off so hard after El Camino?
Decent album. But gives Coloniser Blues. Not giving much and can see through the inauthenticity. Also sounded very White Stripes. Some good records in there - highlight “Next Girl” but didn’t feel much else. Would’ve given a 2.5/5
I didn’t mind this, but it seemed like the sound on the vocals was purposefully distorted on some of the tracks, which I think really detracts from these songs…I don’t understand what they are going for here. I didn’t have time to listen to the whole album, but based on the sample size, I’ll give it three stars?
It sounds like a good uneventful album : nice voice, good music but nothing that makes me think "wow I needed to ear that before I die". Favorite Songs: Next Girl
Boa banda não conhecia
It's okay but nothing special.
Cool, calm album
Started out very strong, but became repetitive. Could have been a five if they trimmed out some of the fat
A good dirty grungy Blues album. I'm glad I gave it a chance, howling for you was on the radio so much when it came out that I got sick of the sound. Listening to the album a few years removed helped me to appreciate it.
𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 opens with a strong run of tracks, where the band’s mix of blues rock and soul feels engaging and well-paced. The grooves are tight, and the sound is cohesive, making for an immediately appealing first half. As the album progresses, though, it starts to lose focus. The later tracks don’t stand out as much, and the overall momentum fades. What begins as a compelling listen gradually turns more repetitive, leaving a less lasting impression.
boring
This was a bit of a comedown after the highs of 69 love songs. I can see that this waa definitely something i once loved and i enjoyed too afraid to love and probs some other songs as well but generally not my preferred genre or style of vocals.
I enjoy some Keys, I enjoyed these particular Keys less than I anticipated but enjoyed nonetheless
Good stuff. 3.5 rounded up for the da-da, da-da, das in Howlin’ For You.
hmmm I just feel like the 21st century representation we’re getting is for the most part not things I would choose. I understand this is kinda the breakout black keys album but to my ears the follow up El Camino is way more exciting and better songs (although maybe seen as too sell out?) Anyway I expected more. Also one of the songs (can’t remember which) reminded me very strongly of the Jack White Alicia Keys James Bond song
now THIS is an album i can get behind
The Black Keys are okay. They’re fine and they’re inoffensive and okay. I wish that they were more but they’re not and that’s okay. Guess it would suck to be have to say ‘we’re a two-piece, blues-garage band from America who became popular in the 00s and have a three-word, colour themed name’ and only be the second best band to meet that criteria.
I still like this album, even if their life performance of it was pretty terrible--all songs played way too fast.
It's the beginning of Black Keys' transition into boredom, doing the same thing over and over again. The Foo Fighter-fication of a fun new/old sound. But there are some bangers here for sure.
It can get a bit same’y but pre-Turn Blue Black keys are awesome. I think I prefer the rawness of Thickfreakness but this is still great!
It’s a bit too long and repetitive, the basic blues jams with distortion gets a bit tiresome, there are some really good tracks in there but it’s too padded out to be a classic. Solid if unexceptional. 3.4
This is a solid album, but if I had to choose a Black Keys record, I'm not sure it would be the one I'd put on this list. 'Howling For You' still sounds great though. 3.5/5.
Very enjoyable album. Some great groove and swagger on the first half. Fades a bit in quality in the 2nd half and could probably do with losing a few of the filler songs.
(61/100)
Every song is an Applebee's commercial. Well, the five I managed to get through were, anyway. Just lamest, whitest, tryhard version of the blues flung in my general direction. It's what Portland hipsters in 2010 would listen to in order to let loose after a long day listening to The Decemberists and gossiping about those sellouts at Voodoo Donuts. Just awful.
favs: tighten up howlin’ for you the only one ten cent pistol im not the one rating 1.6/5
yeah i’m a millennial and i like when things are repeating for 40+ minutes
Simple, uncomplicated but damn catchy soft rock. Always have a soft spot for the black keys
3/10 I found myself constantly zoning out while listening to this one. Most of the songs blurred together in a mess of buzzy, distant vocals and overproduction. There were some momentary highs - I quite liked Unknown Brother and These Days. The rest are not for me. Best track: These Days Will I revisit?: No
It's 2010, I'm 17 years old in a Slayer T-shirt and sitting in a park after school on Friday with half of the grade - it's one of those early summer afternoons which calls for all the different social classes to put aside teenage convention and have a session together. A few hours in, the popular kids who control the speaker have decided that it's "time to rock" and shake their perfect hair around while making devil horns with their thumbs out. You hope that if they get drunker, they'll forget that you've been deemed unfuckable. You hope that if you get drunker, you'll put aside your pretentions and connect with the only bit of rock (apart from that one Thunderstruck remix that was everywhere for a while) they seem to know. Neither ever happened - and although certain people haven't ever admitted they were horribly wrong and would obviously have had a cosmically great time with me, I have at least come to enjoy the soulful fuzz and groovy desert vibes on great display here. Favourite tracks: Everlasting Light, Sinister Kid, The Go Getter
banco
As much as I was a White Stripes fan, I have to credit The Black Keys with being the ones that got me into blues rock when I did, and it was largely due to this album. I played this to death in the years following its release, along with the two follow ups. The Black Keys were easily a top ten band for me during this time, and I eventually grew to love their entire catalogue, but that trilogy of Danger Mouse albums (Attack & Release never quite did it for me outside of the singles) had a stranglehold on me. After Turn Blue, the band took an extended hiatus, and my love for them basically evaporated. I enjoyed that album at first, but it went on to reveal to me the limitations of blues rock, and I’ve never really gone back to them since. This was a fun trip down memory lane, and I still think this album is maybe their best (if not maybe a few songs too long), but it’s hard for me to enjoy this in the way that I used to.
Has an instrumental song i like.
I listened to this album as I went about an incredibly productive Sunday afternoon: doing chores, running errands, and spending time with my mom. For some reason, I had gone into this album with the impression that the Black Keys were a sellout band; that's vaguely the talking point I remember reading about time in passing. On one hand, I could see where such a feeling would come from: the sound captured by the Black Keys, at least on this album, is not too dissimilar from the coproratized brand of pop rock that would soundtrack truck commercials throughout the 2010s. I'm even fairly certain I recognize the song Howlin' For You from an advertisement. However, I have two rebuttals to this idea. The first: I will never hold the typical associations of a genre against individual albums within it, as music can be worth more than the reputation its peers have acquired. And the second: I've always kinda liked that corporate brand of rock anyway. And even then, I still believe the Black Keys have much more character and quality instrumentation than those artists typically do. This album brings electronic flourishes to early soul-tinged rock, with lyricism which would fit right at home in the Delta blues; early every guitar riff or piano run is an earworm that I couldn't help but hum along too. Only after listening to this album did I look back into what other big hits the band had, and I realized I've already been a huge fan of their work without realizing it; I'm incredibly glad to have officially been made a fan. Highlights: Everlasting Light, Next Girl, Tighten Up, Howlin' For You, She's Long Gone, Black Mud, The Only One, Too Afraid to Love You, Sinister Kid, The Go Getter, I'm Not the One, Unknown Brother, These Days
love it, great sound and vocals
Not my taste
Black Keys for me is what a duo should be doing. Their gritty guitar riffs and tight drums just make for a groovy head-bang. Dan's voice is very memorable for me. There's a real warmth to their riffs.
Not bad, some classics, some new ones for me! Not a style I’m a lot into, but it’s very welcome to stay in my collection from now on!
After the two hits, most of this album sounds the same.
It's not my style
Sonaba bueno, no me pareció memorable
3.5/5
Tighten Up // Howlin’ For You // Black Mud // 3.5/5
Man this album really drops off hard. The first 5 tracks are great, then it's straight doodoo water.
I remember a song or 2 from this album when my kids were in high school, but the album doesn't stand out. There's a couple of notable songs. I don't know why this is on the list. Pitchfork: 7.2 Rolling Stone: Best Songs Howlin' for You
favs: she’s long gone, the only one, too afraid to love you, unknown brother, never gonna give you up
The great songs pop out against a solid but repetitive rest of the album
hozier but make it dad rock
Not my favorite sound on an indie rock band, and I definitely don't really like some of the bands who have copied this sound later on. Even though it's a bit pretentious, I feel like this album sounds a bit too commercial for me to really enjoy this vibe. I do like how they were able to combine these sounds into a somewhat cohesive record, though. Favorites: Too Afraid to Love You, Ten Cent Pistol, The Go Getter
Hard to mess up blues rock, and the The Black Keys don't exactly do that, but they do make it boring. It's music made for boomers who think it's rare for bands that make "real music" to still exist. I just need something more from these guys, something they have been unwilling to provide now 14 albums into their career. And so, for now, I must write them off as not for me.
Not bad, not really great. The Black Keys are overhated, but nothing to write home about either.
love the black keys
Solid Black Keys album. This is definitely where they get more pop in their music. But it’s not bad! I think they did a great job at staying true to their sound while making it more accessible to the mainstream. I bought this on CD when it dropped. Always thought it was cool that the physical CD changed colors if it got hot. I’ve spent time with this album, so maybe my lens is a little different than most. But, it had been many of years since I listened in full until today. But it still held up for me.
Listenable but, come in, there is really nothing memorable here. It's also way too long. I haven't reached 8% of this project yet, but it has already made me understand why I don't like American music (with the obvious exceptions): it's because American music sucks (with the obvious exceptions).
I have a list of complaints that I'm sure a lot of professional critics and others have shared: - A lot of effort goes into making this sound like there's no effort put into it. - More bass, please - Mom: We have The White Stripes at home! - I love guitar effects, but COME ON - Why wouldn't I just listen to the source material? (i.e., Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, etc.) It's an okay album to throw on for a long road trip, when you're tired of all your other favorites. The music just has an insincerity to it. They do a bang-up job of copying Soul and R & B as a style, but it's all academic. You have to actually HAVE soul, you have to actually feel the music.
I like the blues rock, I think it's called. Love some rock music. Feel like in the current day hip hop and pop is all the rage. I miss this time when there was popular rock music.
This is so close to being a 4. It’s only real issues are being WAY too long, and being way too boxed in with a specific sound. Now whether or not having an established identifiable sound is more important than variety, well that’s sort of a hard question to answer. But in my personal opinion, this album is exactly why you need more variety on an album. Like you start the album and you think “ oh this is fun it’s like very basic and stripped down old-school blues rock. But then after like the seventh song of the same simple blues rock, your brain just starts to get painfully bored. Like you need something else in there to breath life into this album every once in awhile, cause it’s even more deflating cause they didn’t even invent or pioneer this sound, so it makes them feel more and more like a complicated tribute band. And honestly that’s my problem with the band as a whole is that they just feel like a “been there done that” type of artist. Like Greta van fleet, I like Led Zeppelin, but even Led Zeppelin got sick and tired of Led Zeppelin. Think I’m lying? Go listen to their best album III, there so much variety on that thing. But yah, good band, good album, mediocre music as a whole.
The list, understandably, struggles with picks from 2010-onward. It’s challenging to know what’s going to be influential or important without the goggles of time. Unfortunately, I find myself disagreeing with the list’s choices for recent alternative rock albums. I find this album by the Black Keys to be okay, but boring, predictable, and with hindsight, an embarrassing stereotype of early 2010s music. The tambourine on 2 & 4 is reminiscent of the nascent “Stomp Clap” era that dominated that decade. When better artists from this time are not on the list—Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, Paramore—I feel bummed to get something like Brothers.
Generally OK blues rock, but nothing new here to hear
Black Keys is a fine band. They're not exciting or sexy, they don't stir up too much emotion, but when the music is playing I feel content. It's enjoyable as background filler, but really nice as something to nod your head to while doing chores or just relaxing. As it happens Brothers was also my most listened to album, tho El Camino is right up there with it.
Без лишних слов
4/5
Solid album. Loved the fuzzy guitars and vocals on the tracks. The slow bluesy stuff was good too.
C'était intéressant mais pour l'instant pas de musique qui me transcende, c'est bien mais sans plus, après là tout l'album mla plutôt bien plu ce qui n'est pas toujours le cas donc c'est déjà bien. On va dire que ça serait un 3 ou 3,5/5 mais c'est dur de noter
piola
Fine™️
Sympa à écouter en voiture, bon mood
Sympatoxhe
C’est corec et la cover est cool
Great album
It’s not a 4
It's OK. Probably better on re-listen, but nothing especially caught be here.
Dependable
Barring a couple of tracks pretty disappointing
I liked the sound and vibe of the album as a whole. Want to listen to more of their stuff because of this.
their arrangements and guitar are kinda fun sometimes but i find the lyrics/singer annoying lol
total bleh holy cow
Music for a Lowe's commercial. Very dated and thoroughly uninteresting
It sounds great but compositionally it feels like just a worse White Stripes - a band I'm already not very big on
The sound of this album is quite unoriginal. It doesnt specifically stick out to me and therefore will make no lasting impression. Overall, it isnt bad just nothing surprisingly special. There are some songs on here which I did enjoy but the complete album just feels a little repetitive.
3.5
# Album Name: Brothers # Artist: Black Keys # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: Not a bad album. Couple of good tracks but overall a tad too long for me. # Top Tunes: Next girl / tighten up / howlin for you # Would I listen to it again? Some of it
Nope
Boring.
couple good songs i know, the rest was ok. like a vibe but not todays vibe
The garage rock revival at the turn of the millennium was one of my in-roads to getting into music in general. But by the time the Black Keys came onto my radar around the release of *Magic Potion* my interest had shifted toward bands that were pioneering new sounds. Now 2 decades on I can really listen to Black Keys on their own terms. Excellent album. It rocks.
first half is great, but the end of the album is soooo boring. good enough still
Album from indie rock albums generator. Way too many songs. I would rate it 3 but i was bored at the end of it.
This was a bluesy, funky, surprise. Outside of the fact that Archie Bell and the Drells are the only ones that should ever play a song called Tighten Up, I liked it.
Excelente disco, me parece una compra obligatoria para todo fan de discos de vinilos, la version deluxe trae unos sonidos brutales que encantarán a cualquier fan de rock y blues.
It was okay, but not the type of genre I would usually listen to.
ehh not my style
Solo hay dos canciones buenas. Nada personal, pero este álbum fue aburrido de escuchar </3
Kind of the same thing after a while.
Aware of their work, don't think I had listened to a full album.
Not bad but definitely not an album you have to listen to before you die.
The Black Keys have fallen down the pecking order of modern rock bands, but Brothers was their height. And it was (and still is) a pretty fun spin. 8/10.
As much as I enjoyed a couple of songs, as an album it becomes a bit of a strain. Would listen to singles again.
So awesome
very generic, very any cool band in a movie cocky singer, nothing special
Oikein kelpo rokkia ja tunnelmasta huokuu Ameriikan meininki. Olipahan levyllä yks tuttu biisi NHL11 pelistäkin
Ihan kiva saundimaailma, osa biiseistä jäi kyllä tyhjäksi, lätkästään kuitenkin KOLKKI
Jotenkin raskasta kuunneltavaa, äänimaailma ei miellytä korvaa.
Ohan tää ihan omaperänen tällaseks "moderniksi" tavaraksi. Sikäli myös posia, että kahella PEKALLA mennään ja väsäillään. Pitkää levyä kuunnella ongelmaksi kuitenkin muodostuu puuroutumiset. Näillol se kovakin hitti sitten joltain vähän myöhemmältä levyltä. Aikanaan yritin näitä julkasuja kuunnella, mutta ei koskaan lähtenyt ihan kunnolla. Sanotaan SIIS, että en paheksu tai vieroksu, mutta tsemppi ei riitä. Kakkosen vilautteluks menee.
Bändi oli entuudestaan tuttu omasta hyllystäkin löytyvän El Caminon myötä. Siinä on yksi bängeri, niinkun nuorisolaiset sanoisivat, mutta muuten ei ole herättänyt minkäänlaista himoa tutustua enempi bändiin. Enkä nyt tämän kuunneltuani ole varsinaisesti ollut väärässä. Ei sinällään mitään vikaa, mutta ei mitään erikoistakaan. Todella hajuton ja mauton levy josta ei jäänyt mitään mieleen.
that's a fantastic album cover; it's simultaneously self-effacing and attention-grabbing, a little like the music of the Black Keys itself. the title, Brothers, reads like an affirmation of the friendship between its two members, guitarist/singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney. it's a sweet gesture, especially if you know anything about the history of the band, and the recording of this album in particular! the main criticism this Ohioan duo gets from the likes of us terminally online music geeks is that their sound is highly derivative of a whole swath of other garage rock bands, both from the genre's mid-60s heyday and its revival in the 21st century by bands like the White Stripes, whose similar name and place of origin certainly didn't do them any favors. my natural instinct in these scenarios is to play defense but, yeah, we kinda have a point there, don't we? their particular brand of bluesy guitar music is well-executed, but also pretty well-trodden. it's not like the music of the Black Keys is without any merits at all though; often, they're quite likeable! the sound of this record is particularly magnificent, a bass-heavy retro feel that the band and producer/engineer Mark Neill credited to the acoustics of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, where the bulk of this music was recorded. (for what it's worth, I listened to the 10th anniversary remix/remaster.) by this point in their career, the Keys were less averse to overdubbing more and more instrumental layers, but their mixing gear limited them to 10 tracks maximum in most cases. hopefully Neill doesn't feel too bad about the fact that the biggest hit on Brothers was the one song he didn't work on; I remember hearing the Danger Mouse-assisted "Tighten Up" on college radio a lot about a decade or so ago, and it's still a pretty good track all these years later. unfortunately, the band's aforementioned derivative nature tends to do them in, especially as they begin to repeat themselves; I'm not sure this music really justifies 15 songs and 55 minutes of runtime. decent 6/10.
I enjoyed the first half, got a little bored toward the end, but overall this sort of sound is up my alley so I had a chill, slightly stoned night listening to this. Will likely keep it in rotation.
rock/funk buenos bajos en las bases, variado, muy musical, estilo alt-j,
it was boring for me. I couldn't even finish it
Muddy. But without the waters.
пайдет с пивом
I am not their fan
I thought I was going to latch on to these boys, but they didn't stick. Good stuff though.
Rating: 7.5/10 A bit long, very good though.
I think a weak 3 for this, nothing about it particularly bad just a bit generic, and quite long for how samey it is. I think I’d be happy enough to listen to any of the tracks on their own if they came up in a playlist but all in a row is a bit much. I did quite like “Too Afraid to Love You” and “The Only One”
Great song
There seems to be a lot of hate for this album, which I don't understand. I knew of The Black Keys, and was familiar with a few of their songs, but this was my first listen to a full album of theirs and I actually really enjoyed it! Good, bluesy rock - definitely worth more than 1 or 2 stars!
Surprising that I actually really like this album.
♥️♥️♥️
Just raw crunchy sounds man. Nostalgic.
turns out i wasnt missing out on much. millennial machismo
I really like the cover. It's unique. The music, though, is kind of generic and very advertisement-core.
A couple of decent tracks but I felt this was quite repetitive and didn't grab me in any way.
awful.
Never been an avid fan of The Black Keys. Wasn't expecting much from this, but it turns out their music is great heard in succession. This was a very pleasant surprise of an album, and rises to the ranks of 5/5.
Favorite track(s): the desire to save good ol' rock-n-roll has crossed the Pond. The results are musically the same but lyrically worse.
Was sorta disappointed by this one. A little boring.
Listened before, gets old :/
From the knowing album cover to the tiresome and predictable drumming and guitar work this is one long snorefest. No real reason to listen to this once never mind twice
7/10 Fun songs with a good sound but not really my thing. A bit samey overall but good nontheless. The overall length of the album was a bit much.
One of the greats.
Oh brother… These Guys STINK!!
I've never listened to these guys before, and I had fun! It didn't do way too much for me, but was definitely way better than some of the stuff we've had... I'll have to listen to more of their stuff
Fine sounds but the album was way too long to keep me personally interested. I do enjoy the "Da Da"s in 'Howling For You' though.
I think this is a case where objectively it’s pretty good, I just didn’t connect with it.
we've been rolling pretty good recently. man, i love the early black keys! shoutout to former members of The Davis Bricks reading this who played 10 AM Automatic with me in 2016-2017. this album is also pretty singularly responsible for the formation of one of the high school bands I was in, which we called Cavemen Are People Too. It was, like early The Black Keys, a blues rock duo. we didn't have a drummer and we never played a show, so it was one of THOSE high school bands. but we had stickers on our guitar cases, so that has to count for something. we just jammed in the garage three times a week. funnily enough, "Ten Cent Pistol" came on Pandora once while I was cleaning my room in probably the 11th grade-- might have been my Led Zeppelin station, actually. I remember stopping and thinking woah, I need to write this one down to revisit later. At that point, this album was probably a year or less old; I jotted the name down, listened to the rest, and was like "what the fuck this is incredible." the rest is history. i'm tempted to rate this higher out of nostalgia, but then i remember albums like Thickfreakness and Rubber Factory exist, and if those are 5s for me, this one can't be. but this is an extremely high 4. these tracks have aged well, and it's a good record to fall back on when you get disillusioned by the fact that in 2026, The Black Keys can no longer decide whether they want to be this weird pop rock bullshit or classic blues rock. for me, this was the last album that kept that old school early 2000s sound.
When I was a little tiny baby boy I used to be one of those annoying "they don't make music like they used to" kinda kids who always thought he was better than everyone else for listening to "Real Music™" and that anything made after the 90s had a 98% chance to be awful. This album was a turning point for me. It's not something that's insanely impressive. It's not crazy technical guitar, the drums aren't revolutionary, and the songwriting isn't particularly special to me. But there's something about this album that taught me not to be like that. I immediately fell in love with the nasty garage feel they put into this album. It felt rushed and refined at the same time to me and it made me appreciate a sloppier style of playing that I had previously disregarded.
A few songs I’ve always jammed to, but overall this is just ok. 2.5-3
It’s been about seven years since I heard this album in full, and I think I needed to hear it again to break the myth I created around it in my head. I like the Black Keys. I like their old stuff (Thickfreakness and Chulaholma are amazing). I like Delta Kream. To me, Brothers is where the duo lost their steam and what originally made them unique. Dan Auerbach’s voice is the weakest it has ever been on this record. A lot of the songs sound the same. I cannot understand why this was chosen over other Keys albums.
Doesn't do anything for me.
A formative album for me in high school, one that built a bridge between the classic rock that I was catching up on and the modern sounds in the genre. This was such a good record for a young guitar player, as I learned every riff and tried to dial my best shot at the inventive octave, tremolo, and oscillating fuzz tones on the tiny LCD screen of my Line 6 Spider amp. It still sounds solid, but to a 9th grade boy this was especially cool and taste-shaping. It was also pretty popular and accessible enough to enjoy it with both my friends and my dad. It’s a five because of the nostalgia, its impact on my exploration of music, and that it’s still pretty good.
Sounds great, maybe too great? Mostly vibes. I had heard so many of the songs so many times before without knowing where I had heard them. The sound itself seems so indicative of an entire genre/era of the “indie rock” that I cut my teeth on, but this struck me as particularly devoid of soul, self, perspective,
It's a bit overrated but not terrible to listen to. Good background music
Härligt groove rakt igenom. Gillar det lite ruffa anslaget. Skulle vilja ge 4,5.
Brothers felt very Artic Monkeys-esque; fuzzy bass, raw guitar tones. I was digging this album a lot. Maybe could've been 1-2 songs shorter, but strong.
My wife has made me a bit of a Black Keys fan, and I think this is their best album.
Slickly produced blues rock with a bit of a kick to it. If I were in a grouchier mood, this might not be my thing just on the optics (you can't be singing like that, white baby (Jack White not innocent)) but I think that the backlash to Brothers by the commentariat class might be a touch overstated. Saw a good review elsewhere that made the point that the The Black Keys circa the time of recording of Brothers could never have known that the music they were making here would become the de facto "music for commercials' for the entire upcoming decade, that their nominally counter-culture hipster homages would become synonymous with Old Navy & Dodge commercials, that it would be Tighten Up in particular that would usher this in. I'm sympathetic to that. Creedence Clearwater Revival probably wasn't thrilled that their protest anthems became uncritically repurposed to evoke Vietnam nostalgia. And I've spent a decent chunk of time listening to Daptone's output which is just doing smoother Motown for Motown nostalgists. We're all looking for the past! Favorite Tracks: Howlin For You, Ten Cent Pistol, I'm Not the One, Unknown Brother
didn't really care for it I thought tighten up was good and howlin for you were alright if not a little basic but otherwise it just kinda sounded like the exact same noise at different rhythms. Kinda coworker music ish really basic rock without direction
Though maybe not many standout songs, as a whole the album has a cool, sexy vibe to it, which I dig! A band I’ve always overlooked. Maybe 3.5 stars but it gets a 4 as I can definitely see myself listening to them more.
Could be the most overrated band of all time. Just find em really dull and repetitive.
Might be black keys best album! Not one bad song on it. Just really cool meaty garage blues.
Short simplistic songs but long album Was a point at uni where everyone was listening to Black Keys. Ive got a few of their albums, they arent a regular listen but i remember this and Attack and Release being their better albums Yep.
Enjoyed it. Shall listen to more black keys in the future
Decent, walked so El Camino could run.
No matter how much Black Keys I listen to, it just doesn't resonate with me.
Bluesy, indie, fresh — I appreciated this album. Solid 3.5 and feeling generous I’ll round up.
I really enjoyed the bluesy feel of this album. I recognized Howlin' for You- great song.
Its super bluesy and that guitar tone is insane the fuzzy tone makes the zone so iconic that I could tell a song from this album from a mile away was really cool and awesome and kinda sick would listen agian
5/10
2.3
Sounded oddly familiar, unsure where.
I liked this album, right up my alley it seems, but i will have to give it a few more listens
I think they're more of a singles band. Started weakly but improved as it went on. A bit too long.
This is the first one of these that I have listened to before, and honestly its still great. Not an amazing one, or even their best (which would be El Camino), but a strong solid rock album. Some great hits, some sleepers, their dual strengths come out well in it and has a great overall listening experience.
I loved Attack and Release when it came out so I was psyched when they announced this album would be releasing on my birthday. My friends and I would listen to this constantly while we aimlessly drove around our quiet town. Later that year we saw the band live and it was an incredible show. Soon after that it seemed like these songs were inescapable. I got tired of it pretty quickly, and by the time El Camino came out I decided I had grown tired of these guys. Now that I’m older I’d probably give this album a 3 but listening to it again made me remember being a stupid kid. 5 stars.
Bang average. Like White Denim without the charm. Shouldn't be anywhere near this list.
Would be a great album to listen to outside during the summer! Very long, very good guitar/instrumentation.
Love it. Already loved it. Just a reminder that this album is so good.
Dit hele album voelt als een hele grote brei van hetzelfde. Toen het uitkwam en ik nog een puber was bleef vond ik het wel interessant, maar het is nooit blijven plakken. Het klopt wel allemaal, maar dat alles zo precies klopt maakt het ook niet heel spannend. Het is ook niet iets wat mensen nog nooit eerder hebben gemaakt. The strokes of arctic monkeys waren hun al voor. Ik ben ondertussen al een beetje uitgekeken op het genre. Toch is het wel ergens goed.
Weer een album waarbij je kan prima doodgaan zonder het album te luisteren. De productie is goed, de stem is ook goed. Toen het uitkwam was het ok, nu luister je het weer en tis wat saaier geworden maar tis ok. Niet bijzonder voor mij. Niet een fan maar heb ook geen haat. 2.5
The Black keys zijn een periode erg hot geweest en ik vat dat wel. Ik geloof dat de mannen lang in hun muzieklabaratorium hebben gezeten om uiteindelijk met The Black Keys sound te komen, en dit sloeg aan bij het grote publiek. bluesey achtige gitaarsound met een beetje galm, en ook op de vocals hoor je die galm samen met dat distorded effect wat opbreekt op het moment dat hij hard gaat zingen. Ik vind de sound ook wel tof, maar ergens krijg ik ook het gevoel dat het een beetje een gimmick wordt waar je als band voor moet oppassen omdat dat op gegeven moment ook een beetje saai en eentonig kan worden. Al met al kan ik het album waarderen, het begint sterk maar de tweede helft zwakt het wat af.
re movido lo re banque me costo un poco terminarlo porq era medio repetitivo pero eso es tener una esencia definida, muy solido.
1 - Everlasting Light - **** -Bass **** -Drums Pattern ***** (+1 for the claps/tambourine) -Vocals *** (really love the bg vocals tho (Shoowahhhh) -Lyrics **** -Synth FX ***** (melts really good with the claps) 2 - Next Girl - ***/5 -Bass *** -Drum Pattern **** -Gtrs *** (The left side so crunchyy) -Vocals *** -Chords and Melodies **** 3 - Tighten Up - ****/5 -Gtrs (Left side so groovy) ***** -Vocals *** -Drum Pattern **** (classic with some plot twist) -Slowed down ***** (dayum) -Lyrics **** 4 - Howlin' for you - ***.5/5 - Drums **** - Gtr and Synth ***** (miam miam) - Vocals *** - Lyrics *** - Chords and Melodies **** 5 - She's Long Gone - **,75/5 - Gtrs **** (Left side is MELTING with my left ear, a bit synth) - Vocals **** (a bit broken i like it) - Drum Pattern ***** (James Brown vibe) - Lyrics *** - Sounds like a car commercial -** 6 - Black Mud - ***.75/5 - Gtrs **** (+* for the right side with the wah) - Only Instrumental ***** (important for an album) - Drum Pattern with the flanger ***** - 60s Electric Organ ***** P.S : Might be my favorite of the album, 8PM57 7 - The Only One - ***.5/5 - Synth Organ **** - Vocals ***** (REALLY SILKY i like it) - Drums & percs *** (could be better) - Bass *** (Not that deep sadly) - Chords and Melodies **** 8 - Too Afraid to love you - ****/5 - Harpsichord ***** - Vocals *** - Synth **** - Gtr **** (sounds like a mandolin) - Chords and Melodies ***** PS : Mama's and Papa's vibe 9 - Ten Cent Pistol - ****,5/5 - Silky Gtrs ***** - Lead Vocals **** - Drum Pattern **** (Original) - Organ ***** (great leslie effect) - Narrative Lyrics and not too much of singing **** - Chords and Melodies **** P.S : The end is honey to my ears 10- Sinister Kid - ***,5/5 -Overdrive Gtr *** -Vocals ***** -Drum pattern ***** -Lyrics *** (not my type) -Chords and Melodies **** 11- The Go Getter - ****/5 - Synth ***** (So Ethereal) - Gtr + Bass Synth **** - Drum pattern ***** (a bit broken) - Vocals *** - Chords and Melodies **** 12- I'm not the one - ***.5/5 -Keys **** (crusher and organ wide) -Bass *** -Drums ***** -Gtr *** -Chords and Melodies **** 13- Unknown Brother - ***/5 - Drums percs **** - Vocals *** - Gtr *** (Acoustic gtr fits really well) - Lyrics **** (The last one? heartbreaking) - Chords and Melodies *** 14 - Never Gonna Give You Up - ****/5 - Drums & percs **** (orchestral percs, good idea) - Bells **** - Gtr/rhodes **** - Bass/Synth *** - Chords and Melodies **** 15- These Days - ***.25/5 - Mallet **** - Gtr **** - Vocals *** - Drum pattern *** - Chords and Melodies **** 16- Chop and Change - ***,75/5 -Gtrs ***** (little tingling in the right speaking GRRRR (TING-TING-TING) -Vocals **** (really like the woman bg vocals) -Drum Pattern ***** -Lyrics ** (nyeh) -Chords and Melodies **** 17- Keep My name outta of your mouth - ****/5 - Bass Gtr ***** (DAYUM) - Drum Pattern **** - Flute/Bells/Gtr Hits **** - Vocals **** (really like the effect) - Chords and Melodies **** 18- Black Mud II - ***.75/5 - Gtr ***** - Keys **** - Drums *** - Bass **** - Chords and Melodies **** CONCLUSION : Not the best album I have heard. Sounds a lot like a car commercial. Not bad, with some really good ideas but in my opinion, a lot of these songs sounds a lot like each others. Really love the mixing process of some instruments. ***.75/5 - Nice
This is a review for the album Brothers by the Black Keys. This was the longest car commercial I have ever listened to. It is generic and unimaginative. While the production is nice, the songs themselves are uninspired. At times it sounds less like a cohesive album and more like a catalogue of songs created for ad agencies to choose from. If you have listened to one song from the album, you have pretty much listened to everything. Choosing a favorite song from this album is both hard and easy. Hard, because nothing really stands out. Easy, because the songs blur together to the point where it hardly matters. I'll randomly pick "I'm Not The One" and call it a day.
Muito bom
It was simply torture to even listen to this all the way through. And I have no objective reasons for feeling this way.
Not my usual kinda thing, since this is blues rock. Already knew 'howlin' for you'. Decent - some good motifs/hooks. I can actually see how this is a good album - it's not really my thing, but it's cool and has some interesting sounds - catchy in places
A solid Black Keys album but I much prefer their previous albums.
Bom de ouvir mas não faz muito meu estilo
The midness continues, sorry
Great album. Gets better with every listen
A nice blues-y album that foes run on a little too long for what it is. It gets a little repetitive. I do really enjoy this style of music though. Standout Songs: Everlasting Light Howlin’ For You She’s Long Gone The Only One Ten Cent Pistol Unknown Brother
Two piece indie blues is a thing. It's firmly in the good not great category, but happy for one album from this band.
i liked it
Listening session: february 19th, while commuting from and to internship Listened to before: no Thoughts: I only know the Black Keys because of Little Black Submarines, so I had high expectations. Unfortunately I found this whole album quite bland so halfway through I was counting down the tracks to the end of the album Favourite tracks: Black Mud & Never Gonna Give You Up
Yeah
Underrated album P.S. Best while high
Blues inspired rock
3/5. To start, I do think Dan Auerbach is a great vocalist, especially for this style of indie blues rock. However even if it isn’t a fair comparison, every time I hear a black keys song I just think “Man, id rather be listening to the white stripes right now.” I just feel they do the garagey blues rock thing in a more raw and interesting way. Brothers does start on a strong foot however. Next Girl, Tighten Up and Howlin’ for You are all great songs, but it does lead to the album feeling front loaded as nothing in the back half really did it for me as much.
Not bad, not really good, just kinda there.
Hmm... A blues revival album from 2010. Not sure what to make of this one. And, honestly, I don't think there's much blues cred here. It sounds more like the Rolling Stones-style "white blues" in terms of songwriting quality and lyrics. However, the Stones were far more versatile than these guys. Every song sounds nearly identical to the last, with the same beat, similar riffs, and similar lyrics. It's basically if you infused landfill indie with marginal blues-rock influences, which does make landfill indie more palatable but cannot carry it to greatness. This is an OK record, but it doesn't have the great songs or do anything particularly interesting. Granted, I don't think it's bad enough to warrant a 2, so a 3 it is.
I mean the Black Keys are fine. They make some rock music. I enjoy a few of the songs. But overall the record is just a collection of the same song with different lyrics.
Sounds like blues rock made in a lab. You probably heard these songs in video games and commercials in the 2010s.
Solid album
Oh, Brothers! I was always bound to review this one with a lot of bias, seeing as the trajectory of my music listening life (life, in general?) was forever altered when I heard “Tighten Up” playing while out to dinner with my parents as a pre-teen. I’m somewhat of a certified Black Keys defender, and I say that as an even bigger White Stripes defender. It could be as simple as nostalgia. Or just how much I love Dan’s voice. That said, Brothers is kinda the peak for me; it’s the album I’m most familiar with and their best IMO. THAT said, there are some definite eye-roller moments, especially those “I’m such a terrible man who can’t get a grip so I just HAVE to turn to drinking and philandering” tracks (“The Go Getter;” “I’m Not the One”) which just so happen to fall back-to-back at a point in the album that really makes you wonder who the hell the speaker is here and if you really care anymore. But like…it’s Brothers. 4 stars.
I did like this, but I just don’t think I’ll revisit it as an album. The hits will surely come up when im feeling nostalgic, and that will be enough.
yeah not bad, bit dull
Solid lil rock album. We have it on vinyl and it was a kick to revisit. Ten Cent Pistol is fire.
Disclaimer, I'm biased as I'm a big fan of the black keys Very solid, very enjoyable album. I love their sound, and like how well they convey the feelings of being lovesick throughout. I think the album is a big bloated, as you could cut a number of tracks from the back half and it wouldn't lose value
Wankers
Very good album. A 3,7
i really enjoyed the first couple black keys releases, but i think their popularity and iniquitousness really killed any lasting cultural impact. that is to say, the album is fine, but i've heard it entirely too much.
standard black keys. chilled out background music
I was a fan already prior to the release of this one - "Your Touch" was one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar, but this one in particular HIT. Maybe a bit long-in-the-tooth, but sweet merciful baby Jesus, "Brothers" is chock-full of sassy, bluesy rock-n-roll nastiness that makes this reporter grateful he's not wearing sweatpants.
the buzzy vocals, the strong beats, fun lil hooks - this album is a fun, funky groove that takes me right back to 2010. I love how raw and real the instruments sound - no sound bites here - just two dudes jammin' on real instruments in the studio, creating a unique and catchy sound vibe.
Idk not really my thing, it’s not bad but just sounds like something I’d hear in a commercial for some new chicken wing shop whilst the lady explains the new sauces
This is a solid album, I'm really torn between 3 and 4. I like some of their later stuff better, but this is sufficiently blues-rock enough that I still dig it. I guess I'll go with a 3 since I never pick this album to play. We'll see if that changes in the future.
Super immersive. I maladaptivly day dreamed for an hour to it. I love the classic rock sound.
nice
I feel like the hype when this and El Camino came out had to be from people who have very little knowledge of existing blues artists. A few of the songs are enjoyable, but some are downright annoying (example, Howlin’ for You). They take so much inspiration from John Lee Hooker, R.L. Burnside, and other classic blues artists that it’s hard to credit them with bringing anything new to the table. The Black Keys get compared to the White Stripes a lot, and you could credibly call both bands blues rip-offs, but of the two, I think the Black Keys display much less originality.
Not bad a lot of skip from me.
So I bought tickets to see these guys live, and by chance here they are with the album. However, even as a guy who has paid some of his hard earned cash to listen to these guys play music live, how this album has made it in I am not sure. Black Keys for me are a kind of western country inspired indie rock band who make like 1/2 hits per album that are popular, but they’re never critically acclaimed to be fantastic crafted songs. More like easy listening country style music that has catchy riffs where people can hum along and enjoy. I think it’s almost aimed at people who like pop music and want to broaden their tastes. But that makes a whole album a little bit tedious to listen to, and whilst I also unearthed tracks that I enjoyed along the way, a 2 disk deluxe album of theirs was little too much of the same in one go. But that’s okay, it’s just who they are as a band for me and I’m happy with their place in music, it just doesn’t belong on this list.
It's a nice listen, but it does get repetitive. Very bluesy which is fun but hard to sometimes tell each song from the next sadly.
I'm worried about myself. These guys clearly know how to play instruments and produce an album and entertain people. But i really didn't like it. It felt calculated and cynical. Big beat sounds ramped up to the edge of nasty distortion. 2- chords songs designed instead of felt. Faux blues riffs. Shallow lyrics. Just said nothing to me. I was worried I was having issues with music but then I discovered the new School of Seven Bells album and realised this Black Keys shite is just not my cup of tea.
Picking up on lost threads is one of the reasons I love doing this. I listened to the first two Black Keys albums a lot back when they came out - their covers of "She Said, She Said" and "Have Love, Will Travel" were on many a WinAmp playlist (remember them?) in 2000-something. I lost track soon after and apart from being vaguely aware through online articles of them "selling out" and trying to recoup touring money through some problematic crypto gig, and the ubiquitous singles used in various ads, had no idea about them post 2004. This one was an absolute joy to listen to - i can hear how they expanded their sound beyond the two piece garage blues constraints of their early material, and it works a treat. Some of it sounds exactly like an album in 2010 was expected to production-wise, but I still get shades of soul, guitar driven blues and even some early Captain Beefheart vibes at times. Most importantly the songs are really, really strong and sound authentic. Unlike, say, Kings of Leon at around the same time, who i guess faced the same dilemma at the time on how to stay relevant and able to recoup money for themselves and their record company, this album shows the best possible balance between artistic purity and a commercial sound. From reading up on them that was short lived...but this is a keeper.
I enjoyed this one and have a couple tracks turn up in my liked playlist.
Decent album, I like the Black Keys bluesy-indie rock. I already knew some of the songs from this so I was excited to listen to the whole thing, although turned out all the ones I knew were at the start. The second half of the album was good but not as strong so 4* it is
Awe yeah
Wasn’t expecting to enjoy this but I was very pleasantly surprised.
very good
Really loved this!
Banger, start to finish. Never tire of this one, and it just keeps getting better.
Great album....bluesy with some rock and country vibes. Four stars
G’wan the two boyz
7/10 I like the Black Keys, their general schtick is to create a dirty ‘sticky-floored back room of a bar’ bluesy tone but with enough of a pop music melodic sensibility to make the songs memorable and engaging. And they’re very good at it. Dan Auerbach has got a great ear for a riff and a melody, and Patrick Carney actually builds some really nice atypical drum grooves, the kind of thing you don’t often hear in popular rock. When they get things right, they can create some really great songs that are hooky, tonally interesting and have enough grit and swagger to give them an earthy tone that set them apart from many contemporary rock bands. This is probably their best record, with tracks like Next Girl, Howlin’ For You, Sinister Kid and Never Gonna Give You Up. There’s enough range in those tracks to keep things moving along and that ear for a hook, combined with Auerbach’s gritty yet slightly soul-edged vocal come together to create some great results. But to be completely honest, I don’t think they’re very good editors of their work. From time to time, they drag ideas, and certainly rhythms, towards the end point of their viability. For the most part, they strike the balance just about right to prevent things from becoming too repetitive or dull, but there are moments when things don’t have enough range or variation to justify a song’s length. And it’s not just the songs, but the album itself. This album is WAY too long. At 35-40 minutes, this could be a much tighter, more consistent album that was really elevated beyond what it is in this state. I don’t think it has the variety in tone or style to justify its length and it wouldn’t lose anything by 4-5 tracks being dropped, especially as there are some pretty good tracks stranded at the end of a nearly hour long album. This is an album that gets a decent bit of rotation at our house, but rather than the even longer deluxe version (yeesh), I wouldn’t half mind a trimmed and re-sequenced one to elevate the very best of what’s here. Everlasting Light - It’s a decent dirty blues riff to kick us off. There’s a lot of weight in there, offset against the falsetto vocal. It’s got a nice groove to the beat too. Simple but effective and with enough of a hook in the vocal to hold it up. It’s not the most interesting song in terms of development, but the vibe and tone are good. Next Girl - There are some really dirty but interesting tones to the guitars here and again, we get another solid hook through the chorus. It kind of pulses along in a grotty but engaging way through the verses and then lifts off during those choruses, not in an up-beat way but in terms of energy. The production is great too. Tighten Up - Dan Auerbach writes some great riffs and hooks. They’re rarely particularly complex, but they do grab the ear and weave their way nicely into a groove. It does possibly stretch things a little too far here without enough range, but when they throw in a breakdown towards the end it does lift again. Howlin' For You - More grime, more solid riffs and hooks. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but it’s certainly having fun using it. The layering of different tones does add an extra dimension to the base of the track too. It’s got another compelling groove to it that begs your toes to tap. Nothing here is complex, but it’s the grit and vibe that make it. She's Long Gone - Patrick Carney doesn’t often stick to the basics with his beats, preferring to create grooves that throb and pulse around the kit. Sometimes they get stuck in one place for too long, but he goes back and forth between something more interesting and varied and something more straight here, which is nice. This is another with some good riffs and hooks, and more of that grotty production tone to it. It’s just good fun. Black Mud - The intensity and pace drops a little here and it suffers from not having a vocal hook in there to drag it along. There are some nice bits of playing here and there, but it just feels a little limp and lacking in what has elevated the rest of the album up to this point. The Only One - There’s some nice sound design that bubbles away in the background to this one. It’s probably the most by the numbers song we’ve had so far, and it’s not bad, but I feel like it lacks a little bit by not being quite as grubby as the better cuts. It’s still got a nice shuffling groove, but the transitions feel less sharp and it all feels a little bit flabby in the production and it’s a little too long. It’s still not bad, but the album has dipped a little in the last couple. Too Afraid To Love You - We’re keeping the tempo lower, but that slightly dragging groove is nice. The vibe here is much better and the production helps to build a more interesting tone and space for the song to fill. It’s got a an engaging, head-bobbing groove to it and there’s a good bit of attitude and swagger to the vocal delivery. Ten Cent Pistol - The lead guitar part that drifts around here is really nice, and the tone is lush. I really like the verses here, but I’m less keen on the chorus, which just seems a bit too obvious and I don’t find the guitar and vocal following each other particularly satisfying. The drop out after the instrumental section seems a bit stark and the tonal shift isn’t that clean. But I’m still digging the groove. Sinister Kid - Ah, we’re back. This has got a really solid pace and pulse to it. The transitions are smooth and the swagger is in full flow both vocally and instrumentally. This has some solid hooks and it’s all blended so nicely together with more of that grotty, distorted tone that just blends everything together into this living, breathing wash of grit. More like this please. The Go Getter - I can’t believe there are still 5 tracks to go, this album is too long. This is another where things feel a little flabby and disconnected. There are some ok ideas in here, but they’re dragged on a little too much and the overarching structure and arrangement just feels too disorganised and cluttered. I think there’s an ok song under here, but the execution just doesn’t quite sit right with me. I'm Not The One - The laid back swagger to this is pretty nice, but it needs to lift itself to something with a bit more zip in places, but instead it actually slows down. It’s nice enough and there are some nice moments, especially from the bass. I feel like I might have engaged with this a little more if it was part of a more concise album, but sometimes the length of an album does the later tracks dirty. Unknown Brother - The vocal delivery here is great and there are some nice riffs in there too. It goes off in a slightly strange direction about half way through and then gathers itself back up again. It’s got a nice feel to the rhythm again, but might be suffering a bit from the ‘late album cut’ issue of the previous track. Never Gonna Give You Up - Ah, this is a decent one. Structurally it’s pretty straightforward, but it feels tighter, it’s got some really nice riffs and hooks and it’s got a nice soulful, emotional edge to it, along with a robust groove. The transitions are really smooth, there’s good dynamic and tonal variety and the vocal delivery is really nice. A solid dirty soul number that doesn’t deserve to be stuck here at the arse end of the running order. These Days - A slow, slightly morose number to finish us off. It’s almost hymnal in tone, but it runs really nicely off the last track. The ambience of this is actually really good and it’s musically and emotionally engaging too. It’s very restrained and exposed, but Auerbach brings his A game to the party. He sounds vulnerable, with enough of a wavy edge to the delivery to give it that edge of emotion, but still remaining in enough control to give it a musically satisfying delivery too. The last couple of tracks really deserved better than being stuck 50 minutes into an album.
Found this a bit monotonous. I am not sure what the point of this band is. Formulaic, pompous US Indie Rock of a certain age.
This sounds like a diluted version of that horrid rock / rap crossover. Not that there's any rap on it, but you get the point. It's Lenny Kravitz outtakes, with all the original soul and energy sucked out with a clinical production style.
Pretty run of the mill rock album. Liked some of the sounds they mixed in and had an absolutely amazing night at one of their gigs in Detroit in 2019. Their bangers are bangers. Their album filler is still better than Soundgarden IMO. Not important but when the album ended it also played R.L. Burnside's Someday Baby, which I had on my liked songs already, but hadn't listened to in YEARS, and it's a fuckin' BANGER.
ne
Mid
Great production here, though I always wondered why they wouldn’t tour with a bass player when there is such great bass work on the album.
Just generic garage rock that has already been hashed out for a decade. Not needed
I have found the Black Keys to be disappointing. I don’t really mind their band. I imagine seeing them live in a small venue would be entertaining enough. That being said they’re good enough to open for someone else, not headline arenas. They come across as a rich man’s garage band, which nobody asked for. I’m probably being unfair but I’m rounding this one down.
(5/7) we've had a lot of similar vibes recently but still fun
Forgot how good this album is
Some delightfully, tasty and crunchy grooves
6.27
these guys are clowns but at least this record holds some nostalgia for me
When an album has this many songs they either all need to be decent or it needs some monster hits, this hit neither of those criteria
Chill and easygoing, kept me relaxed while troubleshooting technical issues with linux! Loved "Unknown Brother" most, sweet and deep.
Kind of boring, kind of derivative, its fine I guess? I can understand why someone would like this, its just that that someone is not me. 2.5/5
I thought the last album I had was short. This is 4 songs! 4 funky songs, that kicks off in a real nice groove. Totally something I could put on in the background while I work. Or drive around to. Real cool sound I have to say. Reminds me of things I used to listen to in my friend’s car way back when. This is the reason I do this, I never would have listened to this album otherwise. This is one I’ll come back to when I’m in the right mood.
At times it sounded the same and the songs blended into one another, but then there’d be something different to mix it up and grab your attention. Overall, good listening that’s enjoyable. Like Next Girl and Tighten Up.
2/9/26 - Listened during work. I like the Black Keys and I liked this album. It faded a bit towards the end but still solid and something I would listen to again. Top song - Tighten Up
Really good.
kinda bland
I didn't think I had heard them much before. After listening I can't say much other than OK. It's not bad, it's not great, it's just kinda there. It's music you play at a party as folks show up because it's just so there. No one will actively complain, people will just be catching up and bullshiting and then realize they need better music. I can't say I will put it on just to listen to, but if you tell me this is your favorite album I will assume you think pepper is spicy.
Melancholic Rock with 3 or 4 Bangers on Moondrop Quarks, maybe need to listen with heavier headphones for the full rock effect. Solid 3.5, will rate 4 for the Black Keys.
Heard
Enjoyable footstomper.
Excelente. Un discazo. Al final baja un poco en entretenido y está a punto de volverse monótono. Pero se sostiene, pese a ser largo. 7/10
It’s okay, but it’s pretty OK. So 3.5. And I really like this cover.
I'm officially down to my last week of this project, and The Black Keys' Brothers represents a few other lasts for me: My last album of 2010 My last album of the 2010's My last album that I listened to prior to starting this project I haven't listened to The Black Keys in a long time, but I used to listen to them quite a bit. In the late aughts, I got heavily into the indie scene, and even though I had never listened to these guys before, I scooped up this album when it was released in May of 2010. I really liked this when I first heard it, and I started getting copies of the band's earlier albums (I own seven of their LPs and one EP, so that might make them the most represented artist in my music collection). I kinda soured on them a bit after El Camino, and I think part of that was just that I had been overexposed to their music. I have no idea how I'm going to feel about this album today, but I'm excited to fire this up, because to me, it represents a really fun period in my life. Unfortunately, it seems like good memories of listening to this album will be all that I have, because I really didn’t care for Brothers when I listened to it today. To me, Brothers sounded like an album without any soul, crafted with a handful of singles that would appeal to a mass audience and fit nicely on FM alternative rock stations. On other Black Keys albums, their less is more way of doing things works really nicely, but on Brothers, I felt like I wanted more when it came to the music. The singles on this album are still pretty fun; hearing that intro to “Everlasting Light” really takes me back to my twenties, and that fuzzed out guitar and simple drum pattern are still pretty fun. But “Next Girl” feels like it tries to do the same thing. “Tighten Up” is pretty fun, and the bridge is particularly fantastic. Before today, I’d never noticed the keyboard playing on this song, and I liked it quite a bit. As for the rest of the album, “Ten Cent Pistol” and “Sinister Kid” are pretty good, and they both showcase that The Black Keys can craft a good sound that’s stripped down and slower. Other than those few songs though, Brothers feels like a lot of filler. Less really would have been more on Brothers when it comes to its run time. I was hoping that this album would scratch a nostalgic itch for me today, but Brothers just doesn’t hit the same today as it did in 2010.
I liked it but there's something missing. Authenticity or the nostalgic link?
Think I prefer El Camino. Not quite sure this is groundbreaking. Don’t accidentally listen to the remastered version, it has some rubbish at the end.
very interesting to hear that "tighten up" and "howlin' for you" are on this album, very groovy and chill, would listen walking around town or driving. grew up listening to these guys but never really did a deep dive into their music so this was awesome waltzing down this avenue.
i like it, the vibes are like very midwest emo and travel related, its guitar but its very calm like relaxing
Fav : next girl
ahhhh the guitar
This one has a freshness to its sound that I think their more recent albums lacks.
love me some middle aged white men rock from 10s but the whole album is too monotonous and repetitive
(1 - Bad) N/A (2 - Okay) Next Girl, Howlin’ For You, She’s Long Gone, Too Afraid To Love You, Sinister Kid, The Go Getter, These Days, Keep My Name Outta Your Mouth (3 - Good) Everlasting Light, Black Mud, The Only One, Ten Cent Pistol, I’m Not The One, Never Gonna Give You Up, Chop and Change, Black Mud II (4 - Great) Tighten Up, Unknown Brother (5 - Amazing) N/A
Ok this is home turf for me, I love The Black Keys. Brothers is a solid album, the production is outstanding but not their best one. The first tracks pack a punch and if I had to describe it with one word it would be 'cool'. However, there is not enough variety, tends to get stale midway through. That's why I'm giving it a 3/5. Favorite track: Tighten Up
It'll get three stars because I loved some of the fuzz solos throughout, I think one had a nice delay effect too. That's about all that really caught my ears.
Not much to say. All these songs sounds the same, but at least they have some pace and some grit. It's not bad music, but most of this went in one ear and out the other.
Loved the classics I knew from this album but discovered a few new favorites. Love the bluesy driven melodies. Guitar riffs that blend with the bass line. Really liked this one
There’s an Experimental blues rock thing they got going.
Good choice
Väldigt trevligt, många bra låtar!
favorites: everlasting light; the only one
Dig the dirty distorted garage sound. Some tunes are cool. Fairly or (more likely) unfairly, my feelings for this group were influenced by a supposed feud with another chap whose side I took. And so my take is likely biased. Still pretty cool tho. We'll go with 3
4.5/10 - This feels like an album for the radio. You have two songs that standout, but everything sounds the same. I feel like I started and ended in the same place; like driving around a cul de sac for an hour.
Bland and boring; most songs are indistinguishable. This sounds like music that would be played at a $30 mid burger joint where fries are sold separately and there are bar stools and the signature sauce is thousand island dressing. 4/10
The Black Keys are my go-to band when ever asked the question, "what is the most generic blues rock music possible". But let the facts of history come first: rock and roll had hit a lull in the 2000s after an incredible 20th century run for multiple decades. The straight forward (blues) rock sound was out of vogue and as memey would it be to blame 9/11 for that, there's probably some big youtube video essay that can summarize "why rock moosick bad in 2000s" maybe more amusingly than I can be bothered to try. I'm aware of the garage rock revival that's probably best sphere-headed by The White Stripes more than any other singular band (I personally think The Strokes lean more to an indie sound over garage rock). The peak of The Black Keys was in the early 2010s as a continuation of a sound that would fade out rather quickly. This is one of the first two consecutive albums Black Keys made that continued that theme before the everlasting light betrayed its namesake. Anyways the name of this album is Brothers, and it's exactly how you imagine The Black Keys sound like. Here I will try to differentiate the madness. I find it funny that the outros are the most interesting parts of the music, where in normal blues music always ends in that specific kind of fashion that being cliche is the corny and correct choice most of the time. They made that part better, and forgot to make anything else different other than take what blues music meant (the suffering the moody blues and so on and so forth) and make it palatable for the white man to listen to while at the gym. I don't think being necessarily inoffensive or nonpolitical music is a bad thing, but that it's also a choice. Would I like to hear two white guys in Akron Ohio play blues music, or any singular person living in the Mississippi delta? It's a good thing and they made the right move to record part of this album in The Shoals. Nothing wrong with the production on the album (Danger Mouse is probably the only reason to make this album in the "must listen or die" category imo), merely that the music is merely just okay. The singles are like food kept in fridge a few days after the "fresh by" date. Despite the palatable album, Howlin' for you is not a good song. You can find much more energetic and better versions of "horny for you girl" blues music from the past or from the present in maybe any singular R&B song of the 2000s. The singing aside from some typical vocal techniques is not compelling to drive the emotions in. Blues is meant to be emotional. Songwriting feels neutered and corporate, sanitized for the aforementioned car commercial comparisons people talk about regarding The Black Keys sound. That's really all there is to it. Highlights: Next Girl, Black Mud, Sinister Kid
Awesome!!!
Ja gewoon awsome
Cool vibe but it often sounded like music for a car advert
Pretty good but not super memorable. Tighten Up is still the best track.
I honestly really liked it. It kind of reminded me of Arctic monkeys in its use of the muffled microphone.
I really really liked this album. the songs i dug were: "Tighten Up", "Ten Cent Pistol", "New Girl, and "Go Getter". i probably will purchase this album. for those in the know, they remind me of a more mellow Rival Sons.
This album is very solid from beginning to end. This is another band that ushered in a whole mini genre for a good ten years. The guitar tone is AWESOME. The drum sound is great. I love two lead singers. Very good.
Like the Black Keys. Enjoyed the alblum. But I like thier El Camino alblum better.
Wicked album by a band keeping the spirit of rock alive. I don't know their names or anything about the, but I know they make great rock music. Just a good collection of gritty rock.
beautifully crafted album. very product of its time but still a banger
This one was really hard. I had objections, quite a few actually, but all together it was a pleasant listening, so i choose happiness.
Fun, groovy rock music... Bluesy but not blues. I enjoyed some of the songs, especially Ten Cent Pistol and the singles. The sound profile is a little thin for my liking. It gives a blues tone a unique pop rock wash, and I appreciate the catchiness of it all... But I don't know why it made the list, to be honest, as it pales in comparison to most of the other albums I'm seeing here. I'd have preferred an actual blues album today. 4/10
This album feels like it needs to be listened to on vinyl, in a passenger van, while heading to Woodstock. If the release year hadn't been displayed, I would've just assumed I hadn't heard of it because it was from the 70's. That being said, this album is alright for me. It's sonically cohesive, the production and mastering are similar, but the songs can be differentiated. I had heard the lead single "Tighten Up," as well as "Howling For You" before, and immediately recognised them. I feel that a lot of the songs drag on a bit, and not just the few that go over 4 minutes. (Why does "The Only One" have to be 5 minutes???) It also feels like, although I hadn't heard this album before, it wasn't anything new. You can hear blues influences throughout, and although this album is categorized as garage rock, that feels misleading to me. It feels like more of a soul/bluesy southern gothic feel to me rather than 90's grunge/garage band.
Pretty cool blues rock but the rawness seems too put on. I could vibe to this though
ass
Really good album overall, little lull in the middle, but that’s nitpicking
Cool. A bit generic though.