The Black Keys - 'Brothers' (V2/Co-Operative) Released 17/05/10

Not that long ago, The Black Keys were seen as little more than a one-dimensional curio, a budget version of The White Stripes raised on the meths-marinated evil spirits of Mississippi blues howler Junior Kimbrough and co. as opposed to the Detroit duo’s garage-rock roots. Their path seemed clear: identikit albums evidencing the laws of diminishing returns, backed by frenzied live shows where the faithful could gather to worship at the altar of unfiltered gutbucket blues.

Then the band started to rebel against these grim future projections. Whilst Jack White has become increasingly tangled up in side projects of questionable import, The Black Keys have become the very thing no one expected the duo to be capable of: adventurous. Working with Danger Mouse on 2008’s excellent ‘Attack and Release’, rehabilitating the tarnished name of collaborations between rockers and MCs on last year’s impressive BLACROK: the Akron, Ohio two-piece have not only been admirably determined to shake off the shackles of their earlier musical default setting; they’ve also managed to trek through previously uncharted territories without a single stumble.

The fourth release in two years from The Black Keys camp (guitarist-singer Dan Auerbach released the strong solo album ‘Keep It Hid’ in 2009), ‘Brothers’ proves the fierce work-rate hasn’t led to slackening standards. In fact, the band’s sixth album’s their most essential release so far, a near-faultless distillation of everything that’s extraordinary about the duo. Recorded in Alabama’s legendary Muscle Shoals Sound, ‘Brothers’ has soaked up more than a little of the studio’s formidable history, with the band’s trademark gritty blues-rock dispatches joined by generous servings of superbly atmospheric soul.

Lyrically, the album mines a narrow seam - a few diverting revenge fables aside, there’s no end to babies leaving and evil ladies here. But musically it does anything but. From the hypnotic stomp of ‘Everlasting Light, anchored by Auerbach’s otherworldly falsetto, to the lopsided funky drumming of ‘Go Getter’ and an inspired cover of Jerry Butler’s soul beauty ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ (no, not the Rick Astley smash), ‘Brothers’ appears driven by an ethos not to repeat itself, with subtle production touches – a drop of harp, digitally tweaked guitars – adding a drop of spookiness to the killer grooves that reveal their full splendour only with repeated, careful listening.

From defiantly limited blues purists to what’s quite likely the finest rock ‘n’ roll band around – The Black Keys have undertaken an epic journey, and ‘Brothers’ is its most compelling stopgap yet.