The Black Keys
Brother

THE REVIEW

After two years of waiting, the duo formed by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney returns with the release of their sixth album, titled “Brothers”.
The recipe already tested and implemented for previous albums is confirmed; 15 tracks with a bluesy flavor and rock rhythms.
Unlike “Attack & Release”, the sound becomes more vintage and nostalgic, an effective blend capable of rekindling the old love for blues.
The theme that runs through the album is no coincidence that of escape and nostalgic loss, that feeling to which one remains attached whether they like it or not, a difficult umbilical cord to cut. Worth noting is the careful choice to delegate “Tighten Up” as the launch single; the text with a desperately sensual composition intertwines with the mastery and the already tested success derived from the collaboration with Danger Mouse, a member of Gnarls Barkley already known to the American “brothers” for his participation in “Attack & Release”.
And if “Tighten Up” represents the prestigious radio hit, the album features high-caliber ballads like “She’s Long Gone” and the delightful “These Days” which close the album worthily, offering poignant sounds without studio constructions. From the vibrating fuzz sound in “Next Girl” to the relentless chord progression of “I’m Not The One”, the sound approach always serves the song.
In “Too Afraid To Love You” the sounds appear as emotional bruises, bloody blooms that assault the soul of a protagonist where “gears they grind more each day, and I feel like they’re gonna grind away”. The result is a rich album and certainly a mirror of the musical qualities of Dan and Patrick.

An inspired and inspiring album, which is no accident appreciated by one of the masters of clean and impactful rock-blues: Jack White. Brothers arrives as the album of maturity in which the care for sonic and textual detail undergoes a marked improvement compared to previous ones. Nothing falls flat or becomes predictable, as unfortunately happened with some songs from previous albums, also thanks to Auerbach’s vocal range which in Brothers demonstrates he can change his voice between delicate, bruised, courageous, and sweet, sometimes even within the same song.
We would therefore like to close with the irresistible bohemian-flavored threat contained in “Sinister Kid”: “That’s me, the boy with the broken halo..... Harder than marble stone/ I’m better off left alone”.