The Daily Spin, July 8
The Black Keys | Brothers
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
We’re here for another Saturday Night At The Club!
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: Brothers (2010)
Artist: The Black Keys
Link:
When I think of blues rock, I think of two groups - the Heavy and the Black Keys. Both are iconic in their own right, the Heavy a grittier, pared-down version of the genre, less rollicking and more war-worn hero in the rain, while the Black Keys use guitar to its best, stadium finery near the peak of its craft.
The element that stood out to me from the jump that I loved was the implementation of falsetto - and while I think it was best done on album opener ‘Everlasting Light’, that additional dimension to Brothers is a huge step forward, revitalizing the sound of the band after a few albums of remarkably consistent production.
That’s not to say their formula hasn’t been working - there’s a reason they’re still so well-regarded, over twenty years on, but this album and 2011’s El Camino really kicked the group into another gear, finding that beautiful balance between blues and rock, at times wiggling into one or the other, but always returning to equilibrium and providing that wonderful space for the two to meld the way only the Keys can. It’s an incredibly distinguishable sound, among the easiest to piece out at any given moment, and that cornerstone piece of identity is something many bands spend a lifetime searching for.
My only strong criticism of the album is its runtime - it’s 55 minutes and change, and music like this tends to run a little thin for me around the 40 minute mark. I’ve split it up as far as my listening sessions over a couple days, and that’s helped, but speaking as someone who usually powers through longer albums with relative ease, that’s a bit of a red flag, as is the lack of deviation - beyond the aforementioned falsetto, it doesn’t always feel like there’s much innovation, and though some may argue it’s not necessary, I feel like there are places to grow from.
Rating: 8.1/10
Best Tracks: Sinister Kid; Everlasting Light; Howlin’ for You
Worst Tracks: Never Gonna Give You Up