When did Dan Auerbach get all snake-hipped and lothario-like? See, The Black Keys always made their white boy blues sound so effortlessly ragged – jumped up on Jack and Jim and desert sand – but Auerbach’s bearded bark now has some slickness to go with the soul; touches of synth-sleaze fizz alongside his guitar-work and Patrick Carney’s languid, offbeat rhythms.
Different but not drastic, “Brothers” takes just the right amount of street-spirit fire, and builds towards something tentatively grander. More Waitrose advert than classic Wrigley’s; the Black Keys’ raw power’s been polished. Some things are meant to stay rough around the edges.
6/10
Words by Reef Younis
