哥儿们 (2010)

Brothers is the sixth studio album by American rock duo the Black Keys, released on May 18, 2010, through Nonesuch Records. It served as the follow-up to Attack & Release (2008), the band's first professionally-recorded and non-self-produced studio album. Brothers was largely produced by the band alongside Mark Neill, with the exception of "Tighten Up" produced by Danger Mouse. The album was recorded in late 2009 at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, Neill's Soil of the South studio in La Mesa, California, the Black Keys' home studio in Akron, Ohio, and the Bunker on Apple in Portland, Oregon.

Prior to recording Brothers, the Black Keys' singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach released Keep It Hid, his first solo studio album, in early 2009. The band's drummer, Patrick Carney, was upset by the release, leading to a brief strife within the band; a tense recent divorce had been the primary source for Carney's anger and depression. After reconciling, the band teamed up with Neill to begin recording a new album. The band continued utilizing a rhythmic approach to songwriting, with recording conditions at the slightly derelict Muscle Shoals leading to minimalistic compositions and an emphasis on the songs' low end. The bulk of the album was recorded at Muscle Shoals, helping to create the album's central sound. The band also sought a more simplistic album package in contrast to their more vivid album covers of years past; Carney's brother Michael was recruited to design the album art.

Brothers had a short pre-release promotional window, with "Tighten Up" being released as its lead single less than a month prior to the album's release. The song became the band's first Billboard Hot 100 appearance, peaking at number 87, and also spent 10 weeks atop on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Brothers earned positive reviews and became the band's best-performing album at the time, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200 in the US. The songs "Tighten Up" and "Howlin' for You" have been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA, with "Everlasting Light" and "Next Girl" also being certified gold. The album has been certified double-platinum in the US, triple-platinum in Canada, and gold in the UK. At the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011, the Black Keys received four nominations, winning Best Alternative Music Album for Brothers and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Tighten Up". Michael Carney additionally won Best Recording Package for his art direction.

Background

Tensions had grown within the band by 2009, and the two embarked on side projects. Guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach was introduced to engineer Mark Neill through friend Liam Watson, and with his assistance built his own analogue studio (later named Easy Eye Sound System) at his home in Akron, Ohio; in late 2007, the two convened in Neill's La Mesa, California, home to record. The sessions became Auerbach's solo debut Keep It Hid, which was released in February 2009 on Nonesuch Records to positive reviews. Drummer Patrick Carney, who had not been informed of Auerbach's solo plans, was livid: "Everybody knew but me. I was mad at Dan. I was mad at our manager. I was mad at everybody." Carney was afraid Auerbach had moved on and was on the verge of quitting the band; the two hardly spoke for several months and another Black Keys recording was uncertain. Auerbach, who had played Carney the recordings but failed to mention it would see release, found it increasingly difficult to communicate with the drummer due to his antipathy for Carney's then-wife, Denise Grollmus. Auerbach said, "I really hated her from the start and didn't want anything to do with her."