By Anna-Sofia Takala, Year 11
This edition is about the duo The Black Keys, and their album Brothers, 2010.The Black Keys are fairly well known, however I thought that it would be worth writing an article about them nonetheless. They are a blues-rock duo, with Dan Auerbach on guitar, bass and vocals, and Patrick Carney on drums. The duo have been friends since childhood and began their music careers after dropping out of college. Though the music may be fairly simplistic, it is good to get you in the mood, or to get you pumped for something. Almost every song has a strong bass line and rhythm, with a good guitar melody. Their music is a classic example of modern garage blues, considering they actually started by writing, self-producing and recording their music in a garage.
Most of you will have almost certainly heard “Tighten Up”, the album’s lead single that has made it to several billboards, but some of the other songs on the album are not quite as well known. One of my personal favorites is “These Days”, the dreamiest and calmest number on the album, quite unlike the others. I think it’s worth listening to the whole album, there are pleasant surprises throughout.
Comparing Brothers to the Black Keys’ other albums such as El Camino, the music is very similar. It allows you to know who you are listening to, just by listening. It has a slightly different mood, and tries new things out in contrast it to the Black Keys’ earlier albums, but generally remains loyal to their style.
Brothers is a great album worth listening to, and will appeal to a larger audience than the albums from the earlier articles of “New Music Monday”. It’s well-rounded music that has a good mood and great tunes that will get stuck in your head. A definite favorite of mine, the album is unique, yet not too unique, with many memorable numbers.
