Musical duos seem to be more and more common these days with acts like The White Stripes, The Dresden Dolls, The Mars Volta and MGMT.
Another great duo is The Black Keys, who just recently released their sixth studio album, Brothers.
Brothers is chock full of the obvious blues influences of The Black Keys using soulful and dirty guitars, which are very reminiscent of the sound of The White Stripes.
The album’s second (and my favorite) track is “Next Girl.” What makes this song my favorite is the lyrics. I am normally not a fan of straight-forward lyrics, but this song’s simplistic message got me hooked:
Oh, my next girl
Will be nothing like my ex-girl
I made mistakes back then
I’ll never do it again
Oh, my next girl
Will be nothing like my ex-girl
It was a painful dance, now
I got a second chance
The slow buzzing guitars and almost tribal drums give the song a slow tempo, but a total blues sound. When hearing this song, I picture these guys up on stage at a dark club, singing the blues.
Another highlight off of Brothers is “Black Mud.” Though it’s merely an instrumental track, it displays some really great, blues guitar work. Light organ trace the background while wah-wah’d, lightly distorted and finger-laced guitar-work show off The Black Keys’ talent.
“Too Afraid To Love You” is another slow song that truly encapsulates the sadness and struggle that is depicted in blues lyrics. A harpsichord and ghostly effects are added to this track, giving the track and eerie feel.
“Unknown Brother” speeds up the tempo a bit, but not much. The inclusion of jingle bells is a nice touch and the solo that ends the song is a great way to lead you out. At this point of the album though, I began to feel a little tired of the style. The songs aren’t bad, I just found myself wanting a bit of a change.
This is my first Black Keys album so I have nothing to compare Brothers to. I kept waiting for this album to pick up; not that I don’t like bluesy music, but it does take some effort to keep me interested for an entirety of an album at this pace. It definitely got me interested in hearing their previous stuff, and they have no shortage of it!
From what I gather, Brothers is a great blues album but if you’re looking for something to pick you up then perhaps it isn’t for you. Then again, if you’re looking for a blues band to “pick you up,” then my friend, you are barking up the wrong tree.
Buy the album at our record store on Amazon
Here are some other ETS pages you might be into:
- Album Review – Girl Talk :: “All Day”
- Album Review – Miami Horror :: Illumination
- Free Song Download – Super Mirage – “Song for a Go Go Girl”
- Free Song Download – The Shondes – “Lines and Hooks”
- Enter The Shell Show– The Ohhh Costello Show with Katie Costello