Brothers (The Black Keys album)
Brothers | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 18, 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2009 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 55:29 | |||
Label | Nonesuch | |||
Producer |
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The Black Keys chronology | ||||
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Singles from Brothers | ||||
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Brothers is the sixth studio album by American rock duo The Black Keys.[1] Co-produced by the group, Mark Neill, and Danger Mouse, it was released on May 18, 2010, on Nonesuch Records. Brothers was the band's commercial breakthrough, as it sold over 73,000 copies in the United States in its first week and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, their best performance on the chart to that point.
The album's lead single, "
Background
Tensions had grown within the band by 2009, and the two embarked on side projects. Guitarist/vocalist
Carney realized his anger was misdirected as he was coming off a rough divorce. He and Grollmus were married for two years, but together for nine.[6] According to the drummer, his ex-wife slept with his best friend, lied to him for several years and bilked him for money.[6] By the end of the relationship, Carney was depressed, drinking heavily, and had gained 25 pounds.[6] "Homeboy was miserable," Auerbach said of his bandmate "He was being manipulated mentally and emotionally."[6] Carney eventually broke off the relationship with a phone call while his wife was in Europe.[6] Eventually, Auerbach and Carney met to discuss how important the band was to both of them. "Then we hugged and made up and it's been all good ever since," said Auerbach.[6] The duo soon met at Neill's La Mesa home and got to work on several ideas, notably recording "These Days", which would ultimately become the closing track on Brothers. Things moved carefully in La Mesa when conversations shifted to Neill's old studio in Georgia. The three began discussing heading down South to complete the bulk of the album in a historic old studio.[5] Sun Studio and Phillips Recording in Memphis, as well as Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, Texas, were contenders, and the band even considered an old VFW hall in Neill's home town of Valdosta. The band desired, most of all, to get out of town and have the tracks imbued with a Southern kind of atmosphere. Logistical problems immediately surfaced with both Sun and Phillips, and Auerbach suggested Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.[5]
Muscle Shoals, located in northwestern Alabama, opened in April 1969 and hosted several legendary acts, most famously The Rolling Stones and Paul Simon, before it moved from its original location on Jackson Highway in 1978 to a larger, more modern facility.[9] The studio was closed in 2005 and had not seen recording in nearly 30 years, most recently having operated as a poorly maintained museum.[5] The studio was on a short list of legendary venues where Auerbach had always wanted to record.[9] Neill contacted Noel Webster, the musician and entrepreneur responsible for refurbishing the old studio, who cut the band a "good day rate, albeit with the clear understanding that we were getting nothing but an empty building with a bathroom, and yes, air conditioning. So we knew right from the start that we really would be trucking in our own equipment."[5]
Recording and production
Neill, Auerbach, and Carney arrived at Muscle Shoals Sound on August 16, 2009—coincidentally 40 years to the day singer-songwriter
Entering the sessions, Carney had a negative mindset due to his divorce. He said, "At the time it was really, really difficult for me because I had just split with my wife after a nine-year relationship and the last place I wanted to be was the middle of fucking nowhere in Alabama, sitting in a dark room."
It’'s because of the construction of that building. It's very odd: the acoustics are really different, the control room has this real mid‑range 'bark', and as a result you tend to mix things a certain way. So much so that when you go out to the car or listen through your ear buds back at the hotel, you suddenly realise, 'Jeez, I've done this completely differently.' You realise that it's because of that room that those early MSS productions were mixed the way they were, with the kick drum and bass really loud and present. And there I was, all those years later, doing the exact same thing—just flooring the kick and bass in order to hear it properly! But you can get away with it, because the floors in the main room have a lot of give, they're flexible kind of like a trampoline, and so they were acting like a bass trap, soaking up a lot of the low end. Add to that the bass deficiency inside the control room, and you were forced to add back the lows that were missing in the first place. It was like magic.
The group found their time at Muscle Shoals to be productive and inspirational, as they recorded all day in "a kind of focused frenzy" with a sense of immediacy.[5][9] Neill recalled, "Things were happening that were very, very transcendent, as soon as they began playing. First few takes, we literally couldn't believe what we were hearing. Dan and Pat were kind of looking at each other saying, 'That doesn't even sound like us.' Seriously."[5] Much of the songs crafted were based on "idea fragments" that had been cut beforehand as demos at both Neill's and Auerbach's studios, but eventually evolved into entirely different creations as the sessions progressed.[5] The band recorded 10 of the 15 tracks on Brothers in their 10 days at the studio.[5][9]
Due to the long hours working in the studio, Neill, Auerbach, and Carney generally only had time to kill at night when fewer retailers are open.[9] Furthermore, Sheffield was remote and isolated; Neill said, "What they were complaining about is that at night, after we were done, they wanted to go swarm around and do something. There's nothing. I told them that before we went out. Unless you want to go see a movie or something, or go to Walmart and stand around under the fluorescent lights. So what did we do? We went to Walmart."[9] Carney said that the trio were "just so bored that we were getting so fucked up every night at the hotel," and one drunken night the group stayed up watching YouTube clips of Freddie King.[10] The following day, the musicians showed up at the studio and found a harpsichord. The band's manager had received a drunken voicemail from the band the night before asking for a harpsichord.[10] The trio soon grew restless for a change, and after finalizing the tenth and final song at Muscle Shoals, the band left town.[9] Back in La Mesa, Neill tweaked the multitracks, then filed the recordings away and awaited further instruction.[5] The Black Keys eventually decided to re-work the overtly swampy tracks from Muscle Shoals using more modern machinery, and they subsequently employed producer Tchad Blake to re-mix their songs.[5]
Promotion
The album's first single was "
As the label asked director Chris Marrs Piliero to do a placeholder video for "Tighten Up" as a teaser for the album, he made a low-budget video for the song, released in April 2010, with The Black Keys alongside a dinosaur puppet named Frank. Later that month, another Piliero teaser video was released, with Frank singing "Next Girl" alongside bikini-clad models.[13] The official "Tighten Up" video, directed by Piliero, was released on May 18, 2010.[14][15]
An official video for the song "Howlin' for You" was released on February 10, 2011.[16] Directed by Chris Marrs Piliero,[17] the video parodied action movie trailers and starred Tricia Helfer, Diora Baird, Sean Patrick Flanery, Christian Serratos, Corbin Bernsen, Todd Bridges, and Shaun White.[16][18] It was nominated for the 2011 MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video.[19]
The band appeared as the musical guest on the American sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live on January 8, 2011, performing "Howlin for You" and "Tighten Up".[20]
The third season finale of Luther used the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" as an outro song.[21]
Packaging
The album's art direction was designed by
When first opened, the label on the disc is almost entirely black. However, the label is heat-sensitive and turns white when played in a disc player for a long enough time. The label can also be revealed by touching the disc. On finding the heat-sensitive ink Carney told the Los Angeles Times, "Before we started the design, I talked to the people [at the label] and said I'd heard of this ink. Literally, every ink supplier was contacted. People are really open to making new packaging."[23] On Australian copies of the album, the disc is white with black text; on the European copies the disc is silver with black text.[25]
Included in the album sleeve is a poster with the lyrics on the back.
The font used,
.Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.6/10[26] |
Metacritic | 82/100[27] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [28] |
The A.V. Club | B+[29] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[30] |
The Guardian | [31] |
The Independent | [32] |
NME | 8/10[33] |
Pitchfork | 7.7/10[34] |
Q | [35] |
Rolling Stone | [36] |
Uncut | [37] |
Brothers garnered critical acclaim. According to review aggregator website Metacritic, the album has an average critic review score of 82/100.[27] Rolling Stone magazine placed the album at No. 2 on the Best Albums of 2010[38] and "Everlasting Light" at No. 11 on the Best Songs of 2010.[39] The album was also featured on Spin's Top 40 Albums of 2010[40] and Paste magazine's 50 Best Albums of 2010.[41] Time magazine ranked it number seven on its list of 2010's Top 10 Albums.[42] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[43]
The album was nominated for five awards at the
Brothers was also the band's commercial breakthrough, as it sold over 73,000 copies in the United States in its first week and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, their best performance on the chart to that point.[45] By the time follow-up El Camino was about to be released in 2011, Brothers had sold 814,000 copies in the U.S.[46]
Track listing
All tracks are written by
Bonus tracks
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "Ohio" (7-inch vinyl or free download for members of the band's website) | 4:29 |
17. | "Howlin' for You (feat. Prins Thomas Diskomiks)" (Available on iTunes) | 7:27 |
Deluxe Remastered 10th Anniversary Edition
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
16. | "Chop and Change" | 2:25 |
17. | "Keep My Name Outta Your Mouth" | 3:09 |
18. | "Black Mud Part II" | 2:39 |
Personnel
- The Black Keys
- Dan Auerbach – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards
- Patrick Carney – drums, percussion
- Production
- Tchad Blake – mixing
- Brian Lucey – mastering
- Mark Neill – production, engineering
In popular culture
- The third single of the album, "Next Girl", was featured on the game Saints Row: The Third.
- The single "Everlasting Light", was featured on the soundtrack of the game NBA 2K15.
- The single "Sinister Kid", was featured on the game Fight Night Champion.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
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References
- ^ Phillips, Amy (March 2, 2010). "The Black Keys Announce New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ a b "Record Certifications Around the World". October 26, 2012. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012.
- ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the originalon February 1, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Simons, Dave (August 2011). "Mark Neill: Recording The Black Keys At Muscle Shoals". Sound on Sound.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Eells, Josh (May 27, 2010). "Two Against Nature". Rolling Stone. No. 1108. pp. 48–80.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (December 1, 2011). "'We've put in more hours than anyone': The Black Keys interviewed". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
- ^ Hiatt, Brian (January 19, 2012). "Black Keys Rising". Rolling Stone. No. 1148. pp. 38–41, 66. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Carlson, Sarah (May 14, 2010). "This is an article on The Black Keys". TimesDaily.
- ^ a b c White, Shelley (May 14, 2010). "Black Keys Battle Demons and Ghosts to Make Brothers". Spinner.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "Tighten Up- The Black Keys". Billboard. March 30, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^ "Interview: The Black Keys, Brothers". Buzzbin Magazine. May 7, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^ Dombal, Ryan (June 22, 2010). "Director's Cut: Black Keys: "Next Girl"". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
- ^ "Interview: The Black Keys' "Tighten Up" Video: Small Children Beat Dan and Patrick". Seattle Weekly. May 19, 2010. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^ "Interview: Tighten Up Official Video Premiere". Warner Bros. Records. May 18, 2010. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^ a b "Howlin' for You". Warner Bros. Records. February 10, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
- ^ "Howlin' for You Behind-the-Scenes". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ "Howlin' for You: IMDB page". IMDb. February 10, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ "MTV VMA Best Rock Video Nominees 2011". MTV. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ "Saturday Night Live Episode Recap". Saturday Night Live. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
- ^ "BBC Luther on Twitter".
- ^ a b Browne, David (August 12, 2011). "The Incredible, Inevitable Shrinking Album Cover". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Gerrick D. (February 13, 2011). "Grammy Awards: Black Keys' 'Brothers" album designer Michael Carney talks recording package win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
- ^ Saufley, Charles (July 20, 2010). "Future Blues: The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach". Premier Guitar.
- ^ Paul (April 20, 2013). "The Black Keys: Brothers (UK/EU)".
- ^ "Brothers by The Black Keys reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Brothers by The Black Keys". Metacritic. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Brothers – The Black Keys". AllMusic. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ Murray, Noel (May 18, 2010). "The Black Keys: Brothers". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ^ Greenblatt, Leah (May 21, 2010). "Brothers". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1103. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ Dean, Will (May 13, 2010). "The Black Keys: Brothers". The Guardian. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ^ Gill, Andy (May 14, 2010). "Album: The Black Keys, Brothers, (V2)". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ^ Stokes, Paul (May 13, 2010). "Album Review: The Black Keys – 'Brothers' (V2/Co-Op Music)". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (May 19, 2010). "The Black Keys: Brothers". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ "The Black Keys: Brothers". Q (287): 128. June 2010.
- ^ Fricke, David (May 17, 2010). "Brothers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ "The Black Keys: Brothers". Uncut (157): 81. June 2010.
- ^ "Rolling Stone's Best Albums of 2010". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ "Rolling Stone's Best Singles of 2010". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- Spin Magazine. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
- Paste Magazine. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
- ^ Suddath, Claire (December 9, 2010). "The Top 10 Everything of 2010 - The Black Keys, Brothers". Time. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- ^ "The Black Keys Score Five Grammy Nominations". The Akron Beacon Journal. December 2, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^ a b "The Black Keys' "Brothers" Debuts at No. 3 on Billboard Album Chart with Band's Best One-Week Sales Ever". Nonesuch Records. May 26, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ "The Black Keys Announce More Album Details, First Single". Billboard.
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- ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Foo Fighters – Wasting Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – The Black Keys – Brothers". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Black Keys – Brothers". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100: 23 May 2010". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2021. 2. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ^ "Billboard 200 Albums: 2010 Year-End Charts". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ^ "Alternative Albums: 2010 Year-End Charts". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ^ "Digital Albums: 2010 Year-End Charts". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ "Rock Albums: 2010 Year-End Charts". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ a b "Billboard 200 Albums: 2011 Year-End Charts". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ^ "Alternative Albums: 2011 Year-End Charts)". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
- ^ "Rock Albums: 2011 Year-End Charts". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Black Keys – Brothers". Music Canada. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ "British album certifications – The Black Keys – Brothers". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "American album certifications – The Black Keys – Brothers". Recording Industry Association of America.