Attack & Release

Attack & Release
Studio album by The Black Keys
Released	April 1, 2008 (2008-4-1)
Recorded	August 9–23, 2007
Studio	Suma Recording (Painesville, Ohio)
Genre	Blues rock garage rock
Length	37:21 41:23 (with bonus track)
Label	Nonesuch V2
Producer	Danger Mouse
The Black Keys chronology
Magic Potion (2006) Attack & Release (2008) Blakroc (2009)
Singles from Attack & Release
"Strange Times" Released: March 24, 2008 "I Got Mine" Released: June 2, 2008 "Oceans And Streams" Released: September 22, 2008 "Same Old Thing" Released: November 24, 2008

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	76/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B− [3]
Entertainment Weekly	A− [4]
The Guardian	[5]
Mojo	[6]
Pitchfork	7.5/10 [7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Spin	[9]
The Times	[10]
Uncut	[11]

Attack & Release is the fifth studio album by American rock duo The Black Keys. It was produced by Danger Mouse and was released on April 1, 2008. The sessions saw the band transitioning away from their "homemade" ethos to record-making; not only was it the first time that the band completed an album in a professional studio, ^[12] but it was also the first time they hired an outside producer to work on a record. ^[13]

Leading up to the recording sessions, drummer Patrick Carney wanted to change the sound of his drums and envisioned two approaches to doing so. He said, "I had one of the Bonham reissue kits and I set that up in a live room. And then I knew I wanted a kind of '70s dead sound too, so I did the whole 'towels on the drums' thing." ^[14] Attack & Release features a guest appearance by Marc Ribot, who used to play alongside Carney's uncle in Tom Waits' band. ^[15]

Attack & Release debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200. ^[16] The album was ranked 83rd on Rolling Stone 's list of the greatest albums of the 2000s. The song "I Got Mine" was number 23 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. ^[17] In 2012, the album was certified gold in Canada, ^[18] and gold in the U.S. in 2016. ^[19]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, except "Things Ain't Like They Used to Be" by Dan Auerbach

No.	Title	Length
1.	"All You Ever Wanted"	2:55
2.	"I Got Mine"	3:58
3.	"Strange Times"	3:09
4.	"Psychotic Girl"	4:10
5.	"Lies"	3:58
6.	"Remember When (Side A)"	3:21
7.	"Remember When (Side B)"	2:10
8.	"Same Old Thing"	3:08
9.	"So He Won't Break"	4:13
10.	"Oceans and Streams"	3:25
11.	"Things Ain't Like They Used to Be"	4:34
12.	"Mr. Dibbs // Fight for Air Mash-Up" (hidden bonus track)

Notes

• "Things Ain't Like They Used to Be" features a duet between Dan Auerbach and then 17-year-old bluegrass/country singer Jessica Lea Mayfield. ^[20]

Personnel

The Black Keys

• Dan Auerbach – vocals, guitars, bass guitar
• Patrick Carney – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) – Hohner bass 3, Korg and Moog synthesizers, piano, organ
• Carla Monday – harmony vocals on "I Got Mine", "Psychotic Girl" and "Lies"
• Jessica Lea Mayfield  – harmony vocals on "Things Ain't Like They Used to Be"
• Ralph Carney  – jaw harp on "I Got Mine", contra bass clarinet on "Lies", clarinet on "Remember When", flute and concert bass harmonica on "Same Old Thing"
• Marc Ribot  – guitar solo on "Lies" and "So He Won't Break", rhythm guitar on "Remember When (Side A)", and slide guitar on "Oceans and Streams"

Charts

Chart performance for Attack & Release

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [21]	12
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [22]	42
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [23]	62
French Albums (SNEP) [24]	105
Scottish Albums (OCC) [25]	38
UK Albums (OCC) [26]	34
US Billboard 200 [27]	14

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [28]	Gold	40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [29]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [30]	Gold	500,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Reviews for Attack & Release by The Black Keys". Metacritic . Retrieved November 16, 2013.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Attack & Release – The Black Keys". AllMusic . Retrieved November 16, 2013.
3. Hyden, Steven (March 31, 2008). "The Black Keys: Attack & Release". The A.V. Club . Retrieved April 23, 2018.
4. Willman, Chris (March 28, 2008). "Attack & Release". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved November 16, 2013.
5. Rogers, Jude (March 28, 2008). "The Black Keys, Attack and Release". The Guardian . London. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
6. "The Black Keys: Attack & Release". Mojo (174): 111. May 2008.
7. Strew, Roque (April 1, 2008). "The Black Keys: Attack & Release". Pitchfork . Retrieved September 29, 2012.
8. Hermes, Will (April 4, 2008). "Black Keys: Attack and Release". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
9. Gross, Joe (April 2008). "The Black Keys: Attack & Release". Spin . 24 (4): 92. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
10. Jelbert, Steve (March 29, 2008). "Black Keys: Attack and Release". The Times . London. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
11. "The Black Keys: Attack & Release". Uncut (132): 88. May 2008.
12. Thornton, Stuart (2008-04-17). "Attack & Release". Monterey County Weekly .
13. Williams, Rob (April 19, 2008). "The Black Keys / Attack & Release (Nonesuch/Warner)". Winnipeg Free Press .
14. Gopal, Sriram (October 2008). "The Black Keys' Patrick CARNEY: Attacking The Drums". Modern Drummer .
15. "The Black Keys: Everything Leading Up to Now". Jambands.com. May 23, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
16. Graff, Gary (2012-03-11). "The Black Keys hitting all the right notes". Reading Eagle . Reading Eagle Company. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
17. "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved December 25, 2008
18. "Gold Platinum Database – Search Results for Artist: The Black Keys". Music Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-03-27. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
19. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
20. "Pitchfork Media: Attack & Release Review" (album review). Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 12 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
21. "Australiancharts.com – The Black Keys – Attack & Release". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
22. "Ultratop.be – The Black Keys – Attack & Release" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Black Keys – Attack & Release" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
24. "Lescharts.com – The Black Keys – Attack & Release". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
25. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
27. "The Black Keys". Billboard . Retrieved November 21, 2021.
28. "Canadian album certifications – Attack and Release – The Final Frontier". Music Canada.
29. "British album certifications – The Black Keys – Attack & Release". British Phonographic Industry.
30. "American album certifications – The Black Keys". Recording Industry Association of America.