The thing about music, or any art form, or anything that human beings do for that matter, from inventing something to being nice to strangers, is that it has an effect on the quality of our lives. If someone does something brilliant, like ending world poverty, or serving a beer at the perfect temperature, they are in some way making the world a better place.

If you were a hippy, you could put it down to simply putting out good vibes. On the other hand, you could get more specific and say that by doing something excellent, you are furthering the cause of humanity by adding quality to lives and in turn inspiring people to also do something excellent.

This is why bad music should not be taken lightly. If we let people get away with it, then other people may start believing that it’s okay to have zero talent and not bother trying to do excellent things. If we don’t watch ourselves, the standards of the world will drop even lower than they already are and we will start devolving – that’s right, I’m talking about humans getting stupider and the world going backwards. Are you listening Paris? Any more flirtations with music (or any form of entertainment for that matter) will be dealt with in a zero-tolerance manner. Not quite sure what “zero-tolerance” implies exactly. Murder is clearly over the top. Any suggestions are welcome. Confiscate her Bentley? Something unbearable.

The Black Keys are the kind of band whose existence makes the world a better place. They are influenced by Hendrix, The Doors and Led Zeppelin, as well as the original Chicago bluesmen like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf and the old time delta bluesmen like Robert Johnson and Lightnin’ Hopkins. All of these musicians shaped modern music in some way. They all attempted do something magical and thankfully they all had the God given talent to pull it off.

This is the Black Keys’ sixth album. They’re the kind of band that many people are glad to have around, but this hasn’t necessarily translated into cementing them into our collective conscience in the same way, say, The White Stripes have been. Some people compare the two and say The Black Keys wouldn’t exist without The White Stripes, but the fact is they’ve been around for just as long and it’s clear they would be making their music whether their counterparts existed or not. Follow link for more.

This is what’s great about the BKs. They’re a couple of music nerds from Ohio – not exactly a cultural epicenter. Consequently they’ve just been making the kind of music they love, without too much influence from the outside world and its “music scenes”. These guys are less consciously hip than the White Stripes and you can’t help thinking that there’s only two of them in the band because they couldn’t find anyone else who dug their music back in Ohio, which was most likely teaming with Emos when they started out.

Their new album, Brothers, expands on their blues influences with some soul. Dan Auerbach sure don’t sound like no white boy. He’s got soul in his voice, which is evident on the opening track, Everlasting Light. Incidently, the music needs to be played super loud for best results. It’s full of great little details and interesting guitar tones. From the slow burning opener, we go straight into the dirty blues fuzz howl of Next Girl – “Oh her beautiful face, and her wicked ways, and I’m praying for her beautiful face every day… My next girl, will be nothing like my, ex girl.” The sentiment here may be well trodden, but you feel his pain – they truly capture the essence of the blues, and yet it sounds so fresh and modern.

Tighten Up is a more upbeat stormer and is the only track on the album produced by Danger Mouse (who produced their entire previous outing – Attack & Release). You can hear how much thought has gone into each and every sound on this album. It’s like they’ve discovered a treasure trove of incredibly unique tones, creating a genuine one-off piece of art – a rarity in this day and age. These Days and Never Gonna Give You Up are more soul than blues and the Black Keys pull it off with characteristic style. A one trick pony they are not. So, if you truly are a fan of music that took more than a few seconds to make, unique music informed by a sense of history and knowledge, and you have a fetish for the craft of sound, then Brothers is for you. Listen carefully. It will make your world a better place.