Attack & Release

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]

Attack & Release
Studio album by The Black Keys
Released	April 1, 2008 (2008-04-01)
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]

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

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)

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

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.