Culture

Nonesuch
(4.5)

I must confess, I wasn't familiar with the Black Keys’ sound prior to picking up this album, only recognising them by name. What a pleasant surprise it was. Apparently this is the sixth album by 
talented duo Dan Auerbach (vocals, guitars) and Patrick Carney (drums), and it shows in how accomplished an effort they've produced.
Having started out as a garage rock/blues outfit, Black Keys have been experimenting in recent years, teaming up with super-producer Dangermouse for their 2008 album Attack and Release and even recently producing a hip-hop album with the likes of Raekwon and Mos Def. Brothers finds them taking all they've learned and trying to create an album that harks back to the glorious blues and soul of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Even the excellent (and amusing) album artwork is a nod to a psychedelic-era record by Howlin Wolf.
The opener ‘Everlasting Light’ is an unusual choice. Sung in a distorted falsetto over an equally distorted guitar riff, it may have simply been a clear indication to older fans that anything is possible
on this album. Things pick up considerably on the next track, ‘Next Girl’, which is one of the album highlights for me. Auerbach’s vocal delivery and phrasing complement the driving guitar sound, and there are some nice subtle backing vocals by Nicole Wray. ‘Tighten Up’ is the only song that Carney and Auerbach didn’t produce themselves, with Dangermouse returning to the desk duties, and it’s a belter, managing to achieve that delicate balance between the classic blues sensibility and a very contemporary sound. A later track, ‘The Only One’, sees them reprise this sound on their own with some success. But experimentation is the watchword on this album, with ‘Howlin' For You’ sounding like early Gary Glitter, and the instrumental track ‘Black Mud’ channeling early Neil Young, in addition to the dominant blues and soul sounds of ‘She's Long Gone’ and ‘I'm Not The One’.
Any attempt to recreate the sound or feel of a particular era runs the serious risk of producing a pastiche, but thankfully the Black Keys have managed to avoid that trap. A measure of their success is encapsulated by two of the later tracks on the album, ‘Unknown Brother’, and a cover version of the Jerry Butler classic, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. Without prior knowledge you’d be hard pressed to tell which was the cover version, and that’s saying something.
Another point worth making in these days of throwaway pop tunes, and mix-and-match iPod play-lists, is that Brothers is an album in the truest sense of the word, 15 tracks working together as a coherent whole. Do yourself a favour and check it out.