After individual solo projects and a stellar hip-hop collaboration Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney return with Brothers, the Black Keys sixth album. It has been over two years since the blues-rock duo’s last release, the Danger Mouse produced Attack and Release, and fans eager for new material will not be disappointed with these 15 tracks. From the opener, “Everlasting Light,” Brothers takes a firm grip and does not let go. The first five tracks on this album are brilliant; pick your favorite. The Danger Mouse produced “Tighten Up” is a strong candidate, but the guilty pleasure is most definitely the fourth track; “Howlin’ for you” will leave you Howlin’ for more. Speaking of more; you cannot fully experience Brothers until you get to know Frank the Funkasaurus Rex. Introduce yourself to the dancing dinosaur by checking out the unofficial videos for both “Tighten Up” and “Next Girl”. The middle of the album does suffer from the monotony that has plagued the Key’s earlier releases, but to a much lesser extent. The experience with Danger Mouse is obviously paying dividends. Auerbach and Carney continue to push their sound in new directions giving Brothers a diversity that their pre-Danger Mouse albums sorely lacked. The only other complaint, and it is minor, is the length of the album. It does seem to run a little long, but I can only pick one track that I would have omitted. Brothers is not only the best Black Keys album to date, but also my favorite album of the first half of 2010. It will be widely considered as one of the albums of the year and may just push the Black Keys into the bright lights of the mainstream (although I would prefer that it didn’t). If you are a Black Keys fan this is a must own. If you are still a novice give Brothers a spin, I am confident that you will be Howlin’ too. Tracks to Repeat: “Everlasting Light”, “Next Girl”, “Tighten Up”, “Howlin’ For You”, “Sinister Kid”, “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Tracks to Skip: “The Go Getter”
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