Brothers

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

I’m an unapologetic Black Keys fan, but I only ever what to talk about the blues records. I have to believe this is the only BK record on the list, so I'm going to use my time to express all of my BK related feelings.

If you’re going to put one Black Keys album on this list, this makes the most sense. It’s their breakthrough, and the bridge between the two-piece blues of their first 5 albums (plus a few later records), and the more layered and expansive commercial sound of the other (how many?) albums. For me, those two sounds are like a regular cola and it's no calorie (but not diet!) alternate version; the stripped down blues being the former, and the multi-layered commercial blues being the latter. The heavy blues sound is great, but full strength isn't for everyone. Unfortunately, all the things that made that commercial sound broadly palatable and successful - the "feel good" stuff - are all the same things that make it easy to tear apart and belittle. Zero calorie soda is still bad for you, you just feel better about it because it's got less calories. Ok, this metaphor really started falling apart. Anyways... they chose to add the artificial sweeteners and, if they're happy with that choice, I love that for them.

I own this, and everything through El Camino on vinyl. I had to get off the train there, but I should pick up Delta Kream and Peaches just to round out the blues collection. From my perspective, Brothers is the "I'll have one The Black Keys, please!" album that sums up everything they do. However, hipster as I am, Chulahoma will probably always be my favorite BK album. That’s convenient because absolutely nobody has ever listened to it (or knows anything about Junior Kimbrough) so it’s super easy to have conversations about it, and I love that for me.

Recently, there’s an SNL clip from 2018 making its rounds online where Matt Damon and Leslie Jones argue about Weezer and whether they made any good albums after “Pinkerton!” Look it up if you don’t know it. Anyways, I think I’m Leslie Jones in the Black Keys version of that sketch (Brothers would be that inflection point record for me).

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).

I struggled to connect with Brothers. There are individual elements which I could imagine being able to lose myself in a different setting (I quite like the vocals) but the songwriting is very boring and the further you get into the very long tracklist the more of an issue that becomes.

I had to listen to it in two sittings because my wife asked if we could put something “more fun” on. Fair enough!

Not for me

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

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump down to a 4, though I did really enjoy this.

This is an album where the only track I knew going in was named “Tighten Up”. It’s a good track, and I like it; partly from early 2010s nostalgia, and partly because I just think the pulse of the track is pretty nice. This album, if you want to be rather cynical about it, is “Tighten Up” done 15 times, with not too much variance behind it. That’s the cynical approach; one that I won’t necessarily dismiss, because it’s true to a point, but one that takes away the nuances of this album & the very intentional choice to limit the soundscape as much as it does. This is a very direct album, made clear by the choice to declare the band name & the album’s title so plainly on a black square on that cover art. It’s direct in its lyricism, it’s direct in its vocal approach, & it’s direct in its percussion. The only thing that’s not super direct is the guitar work, and even then, that’s just because it’s doing pretty direct blues tropes that blend well with this album’s ‘softer White Stripes’ approach. It’s a very slight tweak of the garage rock era of the mid-2000s, blended with some of the future ‘pop rock’ tropes to come from bands like Imagine Dragons & a touch of the slower pacing that Tame Impala would ride with down the line. It’s a consistent approach, no different from some blues albums of the ‘50s & ‘60s where you can make the same cynical ‘every track is the same’ claim, but as a result, it’s not really a fair claim. It is, however, true enough that it’s partially why I’m bumping this down to a 4.

For as much as I love dissecting tracks & lyricism & the whole thing, since this is such a direct album, I think it’s a little hard to do so here. It’s not because ‘every track is the same’, but it’s because this album’s lyrical themes of family relationships & romantic dynamics feel rather obvious. These tracks overlap a bit; not in terms of direct references to other tracks, but there are ones that touch on being lusty or being lonely a little often. They’re written well enough & shake up the melodies enough that it’s not too much of a bother, especially in the moment, due to the grooves & pulse that drive this album, but when you’re done with the album & really reflecting on it, like I am now, they just kinda bite you after the fact. The other thing that’s really biting at me, and what’s most inclining me to bump this down to a 4, is simply the lack of a definitive ‘great stretch’ of the album. This is a consistently good one, and it lifts up to ‘great’ on a few tracks. There’s just never a definitive stretch where this album is REALLY rolling like that, at least in a way where my brain can point it out. A truly great album has a stretch that kills it & really gets you engaged. The closest thing here is “Tighten Up” through “The Only One”, but even still, I just thought “Howlin’ for You” & “Black Mud” settled themselves into ‘good’, and not ‘great’. This album just never REALLY hits that defining, elevating point, even though it never hits a bad one.

Hence, a 4.5 bumped down to a 4, though one I still really recommend. Realistically, my bump down is just a bunch of minor nitpicks about ‘safe’ songwriting coming to roost, and if someone wants to give this a 5, I wouldn’t even bat an eye. All of the people giving this 1 or 2 are overreacting in my mind; they’ve got valid points, but they’re intentionally not meeting this album where it is out of the expectations for something ‘bigger’ relative to its popularity / acclaim, and that’s just not this album’s modus operandi. I think it’s a strong album, and when it’s at its best, it’s very good. Perhaps if this album were trimmed just a bit to remove a little bit of the filler (some of the last 5 tracks didn’t fully hook me in like that), I’d be more inclined to bump it to a 5. Hell, it might get there on another day. As it stands, I think it’s a really good album; I hear the acclaim, and it’s deserved acclaim. Auerbach & Carney do great work together, and while they don’t have the same cultural pull as they once did, this album’s place as a landmark of sorts to usher in that early 2010s approach to blues/pop rock feels warranted on the list. I liked it a lot.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Aware of their work, don't think I had listened to a full album.

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.

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.

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.

The midness continues, sorry

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.