May 27, 2010

The Black Keys - Brothers (2010)

Whenever I get burnt out listening to new indie rock, I seek refuge in my musical comfort food, usually garage rock and 60's southern soul. In the midst of heavy dose of R.L. Burnside's hypnotic delta blues, it's no surprise that the new Black Keys album rose to the top my new releases pile. It helps that "Tighten Up" is their best single since "10 A.M. Automatic". The song pulses with a yearning and soulful beat worthy of sharing a title the awesome Archie Bell & The Drells hit. The rest of the album buzzes and struts with the sound of a band re-energized. I particularly like the playful da-da-da-DAH's on "Howlin For You", the soul balladry on "The Only One", and the wiry guitar solo on "Sinister Kid". After a spate of disappointing albums by bands I usually love, it feels good to hear an old favorite come through.

The Black Keys "Tighten Up"

The Black Keys | MySpace Music Videos

10 Comments:

Nightrain said...

So rad!

Ernesto said...

Too much ambient noise got you dazed and confused? Harsh dissonance and misused minor scales making you think there are tiny insects crawling around in your brain? Vocals which make you question whether teenage-angst is actually for teenagers only? Don't panic! "Brothers" is the prescription to whatever indie-rock ailment you might be suffering from. Most true Mercy, it refills the soul's musical gas tank.

Nightrain said...

That was like a review in comment form... well done.

awmercy said...

And so true.

awmercy said...

I really love the way "Ten Cent Pistol" slinks along into chorus. It just flows perfectly.

It's refreshing to hear an exceptional musician.

awmercy said...

But you know what. It totally rejuvenated me. I went to hip indie rock concert and totally loved it last night.

I'm back!

sandenuts said...

Loving this album, Sinister Kid really reminds me of old school rnb

awmercy said...

Here's a pretty good article on them in Spin.

Best quote:

"We make music for hipster strippers."

Here at QC, we've called that Stripper Soul, but maybe we need a new tag: Hipster Stripper Blues.

Nightrain said...

I'm sticking with "Stripper Soul" or "Stripper Blues" without the "hipster" moniker for two reasons:

1) Recently, "Stripper Soul" and "Stripper Blues" were actually used in a context that included strippers (Isn't that right, Nuts?) and not a hipster was to be found.

2) Although socially awkward young people with unusual large amounts of facial hair, who keep GAP and thrift stores nation-wide in business play a significant role in the indie music scene, none of us would really come close to qualifying as being a hipster.

awmercy said...

Well put.

Agreed.

Stripper Soul just sounds better too.