BROS - Tell Me

So when you first listen to BROS, “Tell Me,” you will think: “Huh. They’re just a low-rent Black Keys.” I thought the same thing! They are… and they aren’t. The band is two dudes (brothers, as indicated on the label), so yeah, that’s Black Keys-y. A better descriptor might be the Canadian Black Keys, seeing as how these two dudes are from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Ed. Note: rad). But comparison is the thief of joy, and all that.

Your joy would be especially thieved if you didn’t give BROS Vol. 1 a listen. The whole album is like a trip through the 1970s radio dial (like the car radios that had those big, chunky preset buttons). There’s a healthy dose of funk, some tropicalia, and even some dashes of yacht rock thrown in for good measure. I would bet a big bag of loonies and a six-pack of Molson’s that the BROS spent a lot of time listening to a bunch of different records during what I imagine are cold Saskatoon winters. Vol. 1 is impressive for its breadth more than it’s depth, as the widespread influences make for good songs that are just shy of great. But I’m not here to criticize, I’m here to get you to listen to “Tell Me,” which, actually, is great.

Again, when you first hit play on this song, you’re gonna be all like — “Dude, this is the Black Keys,” and again, you’re not wrong. But the pronounced bass and organ stabs are so 70s that your appliances and countertops will turn avocado green. It also helps that this impressive mish-mash of musical styles is coming from a pair of Canadian BROS who are pretty adorkable in their own ways. Based on album’s cover photo, the band is actually just Grizzly Adams and that one stoner kid from your 7th grade class who smoked cigarettes outside the 7-Eleven after school. So yes, BROS does sound like a bunch of stuff you’ve heard before. But I dare you to listen to the song and tell me it’s not awesome.