Brothers

Yes, I like lots of these songs. This is another band I know the name of, but did not know what songs I had heard belonged to them. Turns out lots of songs I have heard and thoroughly enjoyed. Turns out the songs I hadn't heard I might of liked even more. I would definitely listen to this many more times.

Better than expected but way too long and not enough hooks to stick in the mind. Probably a 2.5.

I enjoyed this even if it’s not a genre I generally like. Maybe will get more listens in the future. 3.5/5

The whole "guitar/drum duo" things means that The White Stripes is the obvious reference point. It's tempting to suggest "White Stripes without the originality", but that might be selling them a bit short.

It's a solid album with several big hits. If you were around in 2010 then you'll probably listen and think "Oh, that song! I haven't thought about it in years!"

Which is kind of the way it is: enjoyable, competent, but not particularly distinctive.

Some albums have great album covers but the music stinks (looking at you King Crimson) and some tapped out on making a nice cover, like Brothers, but the music is enjoyable. This was a pretty good listening experience, none of the tracks were 5 star level but there were enough 4 star experiences that my overall review is about the same. 4/5

Interesting (and very good) album.

It took me a few listens before songs in the album started to grow on me. Interestingly, I'm not a huge fan of "Howlin' for you" (though it is indeed pretty good), "Black Mud" (even if I tend to love instrumental tracks), or "Never Give You Up" (which happens to be a cover).

Actually, if the album were shorter (and we got rid of the instrumental and the cover), this may be in the range of 5 stars.

Among the songs I enjoyed the most: "Everlasting Light", "Next Girl", "Tighten Up", "Sinister Kid", "Ten Cent Pistol" (irresistible dark rythm), "The Only One" (probably my favourite, together with "Tighten Up"), "Unknown Brothers", or "These Days".

Overall, I enjoyed most of the songs and this is a solid and clear 4 star album for me.

Aggressively mediocre

Me encantó la portada pero dios mío que desastre. Aburrido y monótono. Cada canción suena exactamente igual que la anterior y encima con esas letras clichés y simplistas. Le doy una estrella porque sí me gusta el sonido, pero es tan millenial que me harta

There is something that I have to confess to - I am a male music fan, and as such, I have been a fan of The Black Keys. I mean, there is a market for the duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, as they are a solid rock band that harkens back to the grimy, lo-fi era of garage rock. They certainly have the knack for making textured, rough-edged melody-driven hooks with some swaggering blues inspiration. It's enough of a formula for the two of them to milk over the course of several albums, only just reaching commercial success with their sixth release, Brothers, thanks in large part to bona fide singles like "Tighten Up" and "Howlin' For You".

But therein lies the problem – the band's formula can make for great singles, but not great album statements. Case in point, I listened to this album front to back, and while I can recognize good blues-inspired song construction in cuts like the slow-burn groove of "She's Long Gone", the swampy instrumental "Black Mud", the eerie keyboard penetrating through the mix on "The Only One", and the country-adjacent sway of "Ten Cent Pistol", there's not much throughline in connecting these song vignettes outside of aping influences like Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson. I will give credit to Mark Neill for his production, as the guitars are given some muscle to display a veneer of visceral bite, with the lone exception of "Tighten Up" handled by frequent collaborator Danger Mouse.

I'd also be remiss not to mention how obnoxious some of the lyrics can get, especially when Auerbach talks about women. Seriously, tracks like "Next Girl" and "She's Long Gone" had me feeling like he was dealing with caricatures of the women he's come across. Thankfully, the album's not all like that, as Auerbach does provide some genuine character moments, such as the rumination over the excesses of celebrity fame on "The Go Getter", the heartfelt tribute over a brother-in-law who passed away on "Unknown Brother", and the world-weariness in wondering how his life could have gone differently on "These Days".

Overall, I get the appeal of an album like Brothers. It does enough to recall the garage rock of yore with just enough modern grit. Of course, The Black Keys have continued to milk their formula since this album, and they've certainly garnered an audience. I respect the hustle.

Yes!

It's been a while since I heard this album. This is better than I remember

I like the Black Keys quite a bit and this is my favorite album of theirs. A bit of a mix of their blues rock stuff and some psychedelic influence too

Informed quite a bit of popular music in the early 2010s, for sure, but the songs are frustratingly inconsistent, with many being extremely generic (never bad, though). Guitar work is alright, but never very boundary-pushing, except for "Go-Getter," which reminded me of Tame Impala. "Howlin' for You" is the best song here, amongst the better rock tracks of the decade.

Incredibly inoffensive. I would've given it a 2, but that implies I was offended

Now this is my kind of music. No skips. Could be happy hearing any of these in the background.

Mixed feelings about this one. I liked it but it sounded too much like a pallid version of Bad Company, and while the songs are good, I couldn’t really remember anything about this album afterwards. Embarrassedly at one point I thought a song was really good only to realise Youtube had gone to a ad with a an interesting song. That says it all for me.

They sure found "their" sound, and this sound is quite cool. Problem is, they exploit it over 15 tracks with only little variation from more rocking to more soulful. So, while I really dig some standouts like "Everlasting Light", "Tighten Up", "Unknown Brother" or the one where they reverse-rickrolled us, the album as a whole drags and doesn't make me want to check out their other stuff.
3/5 - good

This is an early 2010s-core album by arguably the most 2010s-band I've heard so far on this generator. The vibe of this album is "Ex's and Oh's" meets Tame Impala psych-rock meets Amy Winehouse-like vocals (3.5).

Man I was really into the black keys when this album came out. I preordered the cd and everything. It was a heavy departure from their previous albums, but I still thought it was ok. I still like everlasting light, it’s a solid first song, and I like how a lot of the songs flow into one another, but revisiting it now after however many years, it is a mostly forgettable album with some decent singles. I lost interest in the keys after this album, I checked out el Camino and wasn’t impressed and haven’t kept up with them since then. If it was still the cd era I bet they’d have a killer best of album that would sell well. They just have a lot of filler on their albums.

I thought I'd never heard this before, turns out I have heard it in every car advert I've ever seen