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Toronto Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Q and A: After a tough 2024, The Black Keys bounce back with No Rain, No Flowers
Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. On No Rain, No Flowers, the title track of the Black Keys' 12th studio record, vocalist Dan Auerbach sings, ' There's evil people in this world. Live long enough, and you will be burned.' For those familiar with the rock duo's recent history, it may seem as if the song is addressing the much-publicized turmoil that Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney went through in 2024. The band made headlines when it cancelled its stadium tour in support of its Grammy-nominated 2024 album Ohio Players, apparently due to low ticket sales. Auerbach and Carney eventually fired their management — which included Irving Azoff, a powerful figure in the music industry — and their PR team. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'It was a (expletive) nightmare,' is Auerbach's blunt assessment in a recent interview with Postmedia. Luckily, the Ohio-born, Nashville-based duo seems to have bounced back with the new record, which they are busy touring in North America and Europe. The album offers The Black Keys' usual mix of genres, from garage rock to soul, upbeat pop, blues and riff-heavy guitar rock. While the band has collaborated with other artists in the past — including Danger Mouse and Beck — No Rain, No Flowers marked the first time the duo enlisted professional songwriters to help flesh out the material. That includes Rick Nowels, a veteran songsmith who has worked with everyone from Madonna to Adele and Fleetwood Mac. He has also collaborated with singer-songwriter Lana Del Ray on numerous projects, including 2014's Ultraviolent, which Auerbach co-produced. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Auerbach took some time to chat with Postmedia about the new record. Q: How has the tour been going? I understand you have been playing different types of venues compared to previous tours. DA: Some of them. Some of them are the same. Q: I saw a recent interview and you and Patrick were talking about playing a prison . . . (they actually played Outlaw Field within the Idaho Botanical Garden, which is adjacent to the Old Idaho Penitentiary site.) DA: (laughing) Yeah, we played a prison in Boise. That was a first. It was awesome. A few thousand people in the prison yard with the prison wall behind it. It was surreal. Q: How have the new songs been going over? DA: They are going over really good. We were just over in Europe, and people were singing along. It felt great. We just started playing Man on a Mission a little more recently because that was the last one that came out. That one is going over great. That one definitely transitioned into the setlist swimmingly. Sometimes, you never know how a new song is going to go. Sometimes, it's difficult; sometimes it's easy. That one was easy right from the jump. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Q: Does the title track of the new album, No Rain, No Flowers, represent a broader theme you were going for? DA: Not really, but everybody has made it into that. We have to talk about it in every interview. We went through all that bullsh-t with our manager. It was a (expletive) nightmare, but no, it's not what the record is about. Each song is its own little story, I think, a little vignette. A little character study, maybe. It's more creative musically. Q: Early on in your career, you recorded in a basement, presumably just the two of you for the most part. What has the shift been like to collaborate with artists like Danger Mouse, Beck, Noel Gallagher, and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons? DA: I think as soon as we let someone in, we realized, 'Wow, it's really fun.' Danger Mouse ( Note: who worked with The Black Keys in 2008 as the first outside producer the band brought in and has since worked with them frequently ) really opened our eyes to a lot of possibilities but also just a lot of enjoyment in the studio: getting to be able to do things, try sounds, work on even bigger ideas and go in different directions if we want to. It was really important for us. It was a turning point. Every time, for the most part, that we work, we like to have someone else in there. It's almost like a superpower that we have, just because we're a two-piece band. We're able to get one or two other people in the studio, and it still just kind of sounds like us. I love that, working with people who inspire us and running them through our filter, because there are endless people who inspire us. That's the fun of music. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Q: On this record, you co-wrote songs with veteran songwriter and producer Rick Nowels. How did you settle on who to collaborate with this time around? DA: We talked about it. The last time we worked with a couple of songwriters who were also performers — Noel Gallagher and Beck — and they are all incredible songwriters, of course. But having lived in Nashville for 16, 17 years, I work with a lot of songwriters and it's not something that Pat and I had ever done. So we thought it might be fun to give it a shot, and we were thinking about what songwriters we were interested in. Rick Nowels just came to mind early because I loved those songs I got to work on with Lana, and I kept seeing his name on them. I was just curious. I love voicing chords, I love pop songs that are melancholy. We reached out to him. He is a lifelong songwriter. He's in his 60s, and it's the only thing he has ever done and he had never been to Nashville. So what were the odds that when we called him and reached out that he was going to be in Nashville in two weeks for the very first time? It was absolute serendipity. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Q: There is lots of genre-hopping on this record: the vocals on Make You Mine reminded me of the Bee Gees, there's a lot of great hard-rock riffs going on in Man on a Mission, there's some upbeat pop songs and the country-folk on Neon Moon. What's your relationship to genre now and how has it changed? Do you give yourself challenges as a songwriter or is it all organic? DA: I think with this album, what is probably most reflective are these record hangs that Pat and I have been doing, where, when we travel, we have a bag with us where we carry 120 45s. We are constantly on the lookout for records. We have these little things called record hangs, essentially a little dance party with 45s. We try to play a song that nobody has ever heard before and songs that are unshazamable. These songs are really fantastic and you hear it and say, 'How did I never know this song?' We play rockabilly, garage. soul, we play reggae or Jamaican records, we'll throw on a hip-hop song. I think it's really reflective in the record we made. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Q: Where do you even find obscure 45s like that these days? DA: When we're on tour, we'll go to record shops. When we're stuck on the bus, it's Discogs. Do you know what Discogs is? It's an incredible resource. And, you know, my credit card bill is . . . (laughs).' Q: You've talked a little bit about this already, but there was a lot of press about what The Black Keys went through in 2024. That included firing your management and cancelling the tour. How did those experiences change how you conduct business? DA: (Sighs). Well, it makes us more aware of the business. But in certain places, like in America, you can't really change how you do business because certain companies own everything. When we just went to Europe, we were allowed to use independent promoters in all the different countries, territories. It really makes a big difference when you have a local promoter who is invested and really cares. It's not something you can do in America. It's difficult. Q: You've worked with Patrick Carney for more than 20 years. That's a long time to be working as a duo. Has your relationship changed? DA: Man, I think that's the reason we're still around. I can't imagine having to have more people in the band. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.) Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls World Columnists
Calgary Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Q and A: After a tough 2024, The Black Keys bounce back with No Rain, No Flowers
On No Rain, No Flowers, the title track of the Black Keys' 12th studio record, vocalist Dan Auerbach sings, 'There's evil people in this world. Live long enough, and you will be burned.' For those familiar with the rock duo's recent history, it may seem as if the song is addressing the much-publicized turmoil that Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney went through in 2024. The band made headlines when it cancelled its stadium tour in support of its Grammy-nominated 2024 album Ohio Players, apparently due to low ticket sales. Auerbach and Carney eventually fired their management — which included Irving Azoff, a powerful figure in the music industry — and their PR team. Article content Article content Article content 'It was a (expletive) nightmare,' is Auerbach's blunt assessment in a recent interview with Postmedia. Article content Article content Article content Luckily, the Ohio-born, Nashville-based duo seems to have bounced back with the new record, which they are busy touring in North America and Europe. The album offers The Black Keys' usual mix of genres, from garage rock to soul, upbeat pop, blues and riff-heavy guitar rock. While the band has collaborated with other artists in the past — including Danger Mouse and Beck — No Rain, No Flowers marked the first time the duo enlisted professional songwriters to help flesh out the material. That includes Rick Nowels, a veteran songsmith who has worked with everyone from Madonna to Adele and Fleetwood Mac. He has also collaborated with singer-songwriter Lana Del Ray on numerous projects, including 2014's Ultraviolent, which Auerbach co-produced. Article content Article content Article content Auerbach took some time to chat with Postmedia about the new record. Article content Article content Q: How has the tour been going? I understand you have been playing different types of venues compared to previous tours. Article content DA: Some of them. Some of them are the same. Article content Article content Q: I saw a recent interview and you and Patrick were talking about playing a prison . . . (they actually played Outlaw Field within the Idaho Botanical Garden, which is adjacent to the Old Idaho Penitentiary site.) Article content DA: (laughing) Yeah, we played a prison in Boise. That was a first. It was awesome. A few thousand people in the prison yard with the prison wall behind it. It was surreal. Article content Article content DA: They are going over really good. We were just over in Europe, and people were singing along. It felt great. We just started playing Man on a Mission a little more recently because that was the last one that came out. That one is going over great. That one definitely transitioned into the setlist swimmingly. Sometimes, you never know how a new song is going to go. Sometimes, it's difficult; sometimes it's easy. That one was easy right from the jump.
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Black Keys Are Still Really Good at Being the Black Keys
The economy might be slowing down, but they're still firing on all cylinders at the Black Keys' retro-rock factory. 'Time don't slow/It's passing you by/No matter how we try,' Dan Auerbach intones on the smooth-rolling title track from No Rain, No Flowers, the band's 13th album. If anything, Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney have built their success by sidestepping time rather than giving in to it. In their reality, rock remains suspended in arena-packing amber, 1970s radio drive-time vibes are an eternal power source, and two tight bros from Akron, Ohio, can still form bands that roll on for decades. Recently, though, the Keys' uniquely smooth career trajectory hit a bit of a bump. The tour planned for their last album, 2024's Ohio Players, got canceled, and Auerbach and Carney split with their management. So, instead of doing a big tour, they hunkered down and made a good album. On Ohio Players, the often hermetic duo brought in collaborators like Beck, Dan the Automator, and Noel Gallagher to add some new flavors to their signature high-definition garage-rock. No Rain, No Flowers is similarly collaborative, with big-name studio practitioners like Lana Del Rey producer Rick Nowels, hip-hop/R&B vet Scott Storch, and Daniel Tashian (who helmed Kacey Musgraves' landmark Golden Hour) joining the band in their Easy Eye Sound to help craft one of their most precision-tuned LPs yet. More from Rolling Stone Drummergeddon 2025: Why We're Witnessing a Global Percussion Apocalypse Noel and Liam Gallagher's Brother Charged With Rape Tom Cruise Rocks Out at Oasis Reunion Even Though the Gallaghers Don't Like His Movies In the Keys' utopian past, the top radio station in town plays hard rock next to punk next to blues next to funk and soul and glam, without any racial or social distinctions (or even record sales) gumming up the flow. Songs like 'The Night Before' and 'Babygirl' are euphoric bubble-funk workouts with clever twists, like the wobbly indie-rock guitar buzz in the former. 'Down to Nothing' is a begging, pleading stoner-soul benediction. 'Make You Mine' follows a sumptuous groove to a floating-falsetto, Bee Gees-tinged chorus. 'Man on a Mission' is a fuzzed-out blues-metal stomp. 'Kiss It' is a rough-hewn version of lovelorn soft-rock poetry. They close it out with the Southern-rock sweep of the Skynyrd-steeped boogie rocker 'A Little Too High' and the Allman Brothers-loving ballad 'Neon Moon.' Perhaps due to having A-list song shapers on board, the album is seamlessly smooth and often a poppy far cry from the garage-grind they built their career on, but it's not without heart. The band's recent travails (which include some personal challenges for Carney) seem to color their songwriting, adding a bit of emotional ballast for a band whose lyrics often just seem like riffs on fun rock & roll tropes. 'Don't let yourself get down too long/'Cause a change is coming soon/You can always find your way back home by the light of the neon moon,' Auerbach offers, perhaps alluding to the way music and the brotherhood of his band have grounded him. Disruptions come and go. The Black Keys' clockwork competence is a durable wonder. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked Solve the daily Crossword
The Irish Sun
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
We thought we should do something positive with free time, say The Black Keys on scrapped tour as duo open up on album
Their new album is the product of unplanned time on their hands and set about turning adversity into triumph BACK TO BLACK We thought we should do something positive with free time, say The Black Keys on scrapped tour as duo open up on album BY rights, I shouldn't really be talking to The Black Keys duo, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. But here they are on a Zoom call with me to discuss their thirteenth studio album, No Rain, No Flowers. Advertisement 3 The Black Keys discuss their thirteenth studio album, No Rain, No Flowers Credit: Supplied 3 Last September, The Black Keys were supposed to start a North American arena tour in support of their previous album Credit: Supplied The 11 tracks are coming kicking and screaming into the sunlight earlier than expected — and for good reason. Last September, The Black Keys were supposed to start a North American arena tour in support of their previous album, Ohio Players, noted for songs written with Noel Gallagher and Beck. But, to their dismay, the dates were scrapped, prompting the pair to fire their management team. Without going into detail, Auerbach says: 'The first thing I wanted to do was kill somebody and the second thing I wanted to do was kill somebody.' Advertisement Carney adds: 'I don't want to get into it too much because we've gotten letters telling us not to talk about it by one of the most powerful people in the music industry. 'We got f***ed by the person who was supposed to be looking out for us. 'So, because of some bad advice, we were left with no plans for the summer. We had to take one on the chin.' The situation was a rare mis-step in The Black Keys' upward trajectory, which stretches back nearly 25 years. Advertisement Starting out in a dingy basement in Akron, Ohio, childhood friends Auerbach and Carney took their exhilarating mix of bluesy garage rock to the world stage, drawing on soul, hip hop, psychedelia, you name it, along the way. Their new album, however, is the product of unplanned time on their hands. Still smarting from losing their tour, they convened at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound studio in his adopted hometown of Nashville — and set about turning adversity into triumph. Scots promoter tells how an armada of Oasis fans arrived by boats and ripped up fences to attend iconic Balloch bash 'Reminder of the power of our music' 'We realised that maybe we'd better do something positive with this free time,' says the singer/guitarist. 'So we dove head first into working with people we'd never met and trying things we'd never tried before as a band. Ultimately, it really helped us.' Advertisement For drummer Carney, it was a natural reaction to what had happened. 'When Dan and I are not on the road, we're in the studio,' he says. 'So we thought, 'Let's just get back in there and reboot'.' One thing that remains undiminished is the cast-iron bond between Auerbach and Carney. Advertisement The latter affirms: 'We've been doing this together for almost 25 years — from the struggle to the big s**t. We got f***ed... so we thought we should do something positive Carney 'Dealing with being broke, dealing with getting money, headlining Coachella, dealing with getting married, getting divorced, having kids, we've been through it all. 'As screwed up as last year was, it had very little to do with us so we got back on it, to prove to ourselves what we can do.' As we speak, The Black Keys have been back on tour — on this side of the Atlantic. Advertisement Carney says it can be 'brutal chasing the festivals, sleeping on the bus or in hotel rooms. 'But getting out here and getting in front of these crowds has been the biggest reminder of the power of our music. 'Seeing the fans flip out has helped us to get our heads out of music-business bulls*t and back into what it's all about'. Auerbach agrees: 'The show in London [at Alexandra Palace] was the biggest headliner we've ever played. Advertisement 'It was great after the year we had. Whatever happens, we know the fans are still there for us.' Another thrill was playing Manchester's Sounds Of The City festival two days before the first Oasis homecoming gig at the city's Heaton Park. 'The atmosphere was electric. Our audience was so up for it,' says Auerbach. Noel and Liam are both incredible — we're really happy for them Auerbach He credits Oasis with lifting the mood. 'I feel like they've transformed the continent. We've never seen anything like it.' Advertisement And he couldn't resist visiting the Oasis Adidas store. 'I had one of the black soccer jerseys made — Oasis on the front and AUERBACH on the back. Had to do it, man, they're the kings.' It was in 2023 that The Black Keys visited Toe Rag Studios in Hackney, East London, to write three songs with Noel Gallagher, who they describe as 'the chord lord'. Auerbach says: 'It was amazing. We just sat in a circle with our instruments and we worked things up from nowhere. 'Not too long after that we played a song with Liam [in Milan] and hung out with him afterwards. He gave us some really good advice about our setlist. Advertisement 'Noel and Liam are both incredible — we're really happy for them.' 'We'd never written with a piano player' We return to the subject of their new album, No Rain, No Flowers, which involved a new approach for The Black Keys. Instead of big-name guests like Noel and Beck and, before them, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, they turned to acclaimed songwriters — the unsung heroes — for their collaborative process. They welcomed into their world Rick Nowels (Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Lana Del Rey), Scott Storch (Dr Dre, Nas) and Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves). Advertisement Auerbach had encountered Nowels while producing Lana Del Rey's 2014 third album Ultraviolence and had long been impressed with his keyboard skills. He says: 'We'd never written with a piano player before. After 20-plus years in the band, it was cool to try something new in the studio.' Carney adds: 'The way we worked with each one of these people was completely different. 'With Daniel, for instance, we'd start with a jam session. With Rick, it was all about getting the title of the song.' Advertisement And Auerbach again: 'Scott's all about instrumentation. He didn't want to think about the words. He just lets you do that stuff afterwards.' One of the co-writes with Nowels is the life-affirming title track which begins the album. With lines like, 'Baby, the damage is done/It won't be long 'til we're back in the sun', you could be forgiven for thinking it reflects on the band's recent woes. Auerbach says it does, but only up to a point. 'It started with the title and we built it from there. Advertisement 'We tend to shy away from diary-type songs. It gives us 'the ick' when it sounds like somebody's reading from their diary. 'But there's a lot of truth in the song. It's us trying to be positive, which maybe wasn't how we were feeling. 'It was a nice thought to write a positive anthem but still have blood in the eye.' If The Black Keys' go-to sound has been the blues, this album is remarkable for its funky, airy and soulful vibe. Advertisement Auerbach says: 'We were heavily influenced by soul growing up, maybe more than anything, and it really shows. 'With us, it's all about the feel. When we started out, we didn't know what the hell we were doing, but we knew when it felt right.' Another strong touchstone has been hip-hop, which is why Auerbach and Carney are thrilled to have worked with Scott Storch, another dazzling keyboard player, who started out in the Roots and went on to work with Dr Dre, 50 Cent, Beyonce and Nas. 'We are a product of where we were raised,' affirms Auerbach. 'We grew up in the golden age of hip- hop. That's what pop music was for us. Advertisement 'The first time I heard the Geto Boys was at the middle- school dance and it affected us. That's the s**t on those blues records I love so much. You hear Son House grunting when he's playing slide guitar Auerbach 'But then my mom's family played bluegrass — I would listen to my uncles sing. And when The Stanley Brothers sing, it's white soul music. I love it all.' As for Storch, Auerbach continues: 'We've obsessed over videos of him since we were in high school. Seeing him play all the parts of his hits makes our jaws hit the floor. 'You can hear Scott physically grunting' 'The idea of getting him in the studio seemed crazy because he seemed like a larger-than-life figure.' Advertisement Auerbach was mesmerised by Storch when he arrived at Easy Eye Sound. He says: 'Scott's a real player, an absolute musical savant. As a hip-hop producer, he tends to spend 99.9 per cent of the time in the control room. 'But we have all these acoustic pianos, harpsichords and analogue synthesisers. He was in heaven, and so were we watching him go from keyboard to keyboard. 'On Babygirl, he's on an acoustic piano with microphones and you can hear him physically grunting in time with his playing. That's got to be a first for Scott Storch on record. Advertisement 'That's the s**t on those blues records I love so much. You hear Son House grunting when he's playing slide guitar.' The No Rain, No Flowers album is loaded with hook-laden songs — the exhilarating rocker Man On A Mission, the psychedelic Southern rock swirl of A Little Too High. One explanation for their eclectic approach is The Black Keys' regular Record Hang in Nashville, which involves Auerbach and Carney hosting all-vinyl DJ dance parties. For these, they scour online marketplaces and record shops for obscure but revelatory old 45s. Advertisement Carney explains: 'We end up exposing ourselves to thousands of songs that somehow we've never heard. 'It's really cool to be so deep into our career and uncovering all this incredible music. It's totally reinvigorating — particularly when one of us finds a record that the other hasn't heard and it's a banger.' So check out Carney's discovery Nobody Loves Me But My Mama by Johnny Holiday, which he describes as 'f*ing insane — psychobilly fuzz rock'. Then there's Auerbach's fave, Yeah Yeah by Blackrock, 'a rare 45 instrumental which rearranged our minds. It still hits like crazy'. We just fell right into it, started playing it and luckily we were recording Auerbach With The Black Keys, you always get a sense of passion for their craft, and for other people's. Advertisement Auerbach says: 'Pat and I were talking about this earlier — music can hypnotise you. You can use it for good or for evil. It's a very powerful tool.' And Carney: 'It's my biggest passion and it has been since I was 11. 'Sensitive about what we listen to' 'I also think about the delicate balance you need when you do it for a living. You're taking the thing you love the most but you never want to ruin it for yourself. 'Dan and I are very sensitive about what we listen to. We were at a music festival in a spot in between seven stages. It sounded horrible. I said, 'This is the kind of thing that could make me hate music'.' Advertisement Finally, we talk about another of their own songs, the sublime, festival-primed anthem Neon Moon, which closes No Rain, No Flowers. Written with Daniel Tashian, Auerbach modestly calls it a 'first-take jam' but that doesn't really do it justice. 'I think it just started with the 'neon moon' lyric,' he says. 'We just fell right into it, started playing it and luckily we were recording.' As the song gets into its stride, he sings: 'Don't let yourself get down too long.' Advertisement It's a line that The Black Keys have taken to heart. THE BLACK KEYS No Rain, No Flowers ★★★★☆
Scottish Sun
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
We thought we should do something positive with free time, say The Black Keys on scrapped tour as duo open up on album
Their new album is the product of unplanned time on their hands and set about turning adversity into triumph BACK TO BLACK We thought we should do something positive with free time, say The Black Keys on scrapped tour as duo open up on album Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BY rights, I shouldn't really be talking to The Black Keys duo, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. But here they are on a Zoom call with me to discuss their thirteenth studio album, No Rain, No Flowers. 3 The Black Keys discuss their thirteenth studio album, No Rain, No Flowers Credit: Supplied 3 Last September, The Black Keys were supposed to start a North American arena tour in support of their previous album Credit: Supplied The 11 tracks are coming kicking and screaming into the sunlight earlier than expected — and for good reason. Last September, The Black Keys were supposed to start a North American arena tour in support of their previous album, Ohio Players, noted for songs written with Noel Gallagher and Beck. But, to their dismay, the dates were scrapped, prompting the pair to fire their management team. Without going into detail, Auerbach says: 'The first thing I wanted to do was kill somebody and the second thing I wanted to do was kill somebody.' Carney adds: 'I don't want to get into it too much because we've gotten letters telling us not to talk about it by one of the most powerful people in the music industry. 'We got f***ed by the person who was supposed to be looking out for us. 'So, because of some bad advice, we were left with no plans for the summer. We had to take one on the chin.' The situation was a rare mis-step in The Black Keys' upward trajectory, which stretches back nearly 25 years. Starting out in a dingy basement in Akron, Ohio, childhood friends Auerbach and Carney took their exhilarating mix of bluesy garage rock to the world stage, drawing on soul, hip hop, psychedelia, you name it, along the way. Their new album, however, is the product of unplanned time on their hands. Still smarting from losing their tour, they convened at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound studio in his adopted hometown of Nashville — and set about turning adversity into triumph. Scots promoter tells how an armada of Oasis fans arrived by boats and ripped up fences to attend iconic Balloch bash 'Reminder of the power of our music' 'We realised that maybe we'd better do something positive with this free time,' says the singer/guitarist. 'So we dove head first into working with people we'd never met and trying things we'd never tried before as a band. Ultimately, it really helped us.' For drummer Carney, it was a natural reaction to what had happened. 'When Dan and I are not on the road, we're in the studio,' he says. 'So we thought, 'Let's just get back in there and reboot'.' One thing that remains undiminished is the cast-iron bond between Auerbach and Carney. The latter affirms: 'We've been doing this together for almost 25 years — from the struggle to the big s**t. We got f***ed... so we thought we should do something positive Carney 'Dealing with being broke, dealing with getting money, headlining Coachella, dealing with getting married, getting divorced, having kids, we've been through it all. 'As screwed up as last year was, it had very little to do with us so we got back on it, to prove to ourselves what we can do.' As we speak, The Black Keys have been back on tour — on this side of the Atlantic. Carney says it can be 'brutal chasing the festivals, sleeping on the bus or in hotel rooms. 'But getting out here and getting in front of these crowds has been the biggest reminder of the power of our music. 'Seeing the fans flip out has helped us to get our heads out of music-business bulls*t and back into what it's all about'. Auerbach agrees: 'The show in London [at Alexandra Palace] was the biggest headliner we've ever played. 'It was great after the year we had. Whatever happens, we know the fans are still there for us.' Another thrill was playing Manchester's Sounds Of The City festival two days before the first Oasis homecoming gig at the city's Heaton Park. 'The atmosphere was electric. Our audience was so up for it,' says Auerbach. Noel and Liam are both incredible — we're really happy for them Auerbach He credits Oasis with lifting the mood. 'I feel like they've transformed the continent. We've never seen anything like it.' And he couldn't resist visiting the Oasis Adidas store. 'I had one of the black soccer jerseys made — Oasis on the front and AUERBACH on the back. Had to do it, man, they're the kings.' It was in 2023 that The Black Keys visited Toe Rag Studios in Hackney, East London, to write three songs with Noel Gallagher, who they describe as 'the chord lord'. Auerbach says: 'It was amazing. We just sat in a circle with our instruments and we worked things up from nowhere. 'Not too long after that we played a song with Liam [in Milan] and hung out with him afterwards. He gave us some really good advice about our setlist. 'Noel and Liam are both incredible — we're really happy for them.' 'We'd never written with a piano player' We return to the subject of their new album, No Rain, No Flowers, which involved a new approach for The Black Keys. Instead of big-name guests like Noel and Beck and, before them, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, they turned to acclaimed songwriters — the unsung heroes — for their collaborative process. They welcomed into their world Rick Nowels (Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Lana Del Rey), Scott Storch (Dr Dre, Nas) and Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves). Auerbach had encountered Nowels while producing Lana Del Rey's 2014 third album Ultraviolence and had long been impressed with his keyboard skills. He says: 'We'd never written with a piano player before. After 20-plus years in the band, it was cool to try something new in the studio.' Carney adds: 'The way we worked with each one of these people was completely different. 'With Daniel, for instance, we'd start with a jam session. With Rick, it was all about getting the title of the song.' And Auerbach again: 'Scott's all about instrumentation. He didn't want to think about the words. He just lets you do that stuff afterwards.' One of the co-writes with Nowels is the life-affirming title track which begins the album. With lines like, 'Baby, the damage is done/It won't be long 'til we're back in the sun', you could be forgiven for thinking it reflects on the band's recent woes. Auerbach says it does, but only up to a point. 'It started with the title and we built it from there. 'We tend to shy away from diary-type songs. It gives us 'the ick' when it sounds like somebody's reading from their diary. 'But there's a lot of truth in the song. It's us trying to be positive, which maybe wasn't how we were feeling. 'It was a nice thought to write a positive anthem but still have blood in the eye.' If The Black Keys' go-to sound has been the blues, this album is remarkable for its funky, airy and soulful vibe. Auerbach says: 'We were heavily influenced by soul growing up, maybe more than anything, and it really shows. 'With us, it's all about the feel. When we started out, we didn't know what the hell we were doing, but we knew when it felt right.' Another strong touchstone has been hip-hop, which is why Auerbach and Carney are thrilled to have worked with Scott Storch, another dazzling keyboard player, who started out in the Roots and went on to work with Dr Dre, 50 Cent, Beyonce and Nas. 'We are a product of where we were raised,' affirms Auerbach. 'We grew up in the golden age of hip- hop. That's what pop music was for us. 'The first time I heard the Geto Boys was at the middle- school dance and it affected us. That's the s**t on those blues records I love so much. You hear Son House grunting when he's playing slide guitar Auerbach 'But then my mom's family played bluegrass — I would listen to my uncles sing. And when The Stanley Brothers sing, it's white soul music. I love it all.' As for Storch, Auerbach continues: 'We've obsessed over videos of him since we were in high school. Seeing him play all the parts of his hits makes our jaws hit the floor. 'You can hear Scott physically grunting' 'The idea of getting him in the studio seemed crazy because he seemed like a larger-than-life figure.' Auerbach was mesmerised by Storch when he arrived at Easy Eye Sound. He says: 'Scott's a real player, an absolute musical savant. As a hip-hop producer, he tends to spend 99.9 per cent of the time in the control room. 'But we have all these acoustic pianos, harpsichords and analogue synthesisers. He was in heaven, and so were we watching him go from keyboard to keyboard. 'On Babygirl, he's on an acoustic piano with microphones and you can hear him physically grunting in time with his playing. That's got to be a first for Scott Storch on record. 'That's the s**t on those blues records I love so much. You hear Son House grunting when he's playing slide guitar.' The No Rain, No Flowers album is loaded with hook-laden songs — the exhilarating rocker Man On A Mission, the psychedelic Southern rock swirl of A Little Too High. One explanation for their eclectic approach is The Black Keys' regular Record Hang in Nashville, which involves Auerbach and Carney hosting all-vinyl DJ dance parties. For these, they scour online marketplaces and record shops for obscure but revelatory old 45s. Carney explains: 'We end up exposing ourselves to thousands of songs that somehow we've never heard. 'It's really cool to be so deep into our career and uncovering all this incredible music. It's totally reinvigorating — particularly when one of us finds a record that the other hasn't heard and it's a banger.' So check out Carney's discovery Nobody Loves Me But My Mama by Johnny Holiday, which he describes as 'f*ing insane — psychobilly fuzz rock'. Then there's Auerbach's fave, Yeah Yeah by Blackrock, 'a rare 45 instrumental which rearranged our minds. It still hits like crazy'. We just fell right into it, started playing it and luckily we were recording Auerbach With The Black Keys, you always get a sense of passion for their craft, and for other people's. Auerbach says: 'Pat and I were talking about this earlier — music can hypnotise you. You can use it for good or for evil. It's a very powerful tool.' And Carney: 'It's my biggest passion and it has been since I was 11. 'Sensitive about what we listen to' 'I also think about the delicate balance you need when you do it for a living. You're taking the thing you love the most but you never want to ruin it for yourself. 'Dan and I are very sensitive about what we listen to. We were at a music festival in a spot in between seven stages. It sounded horrible. I said, 'This is the kind of thing that could make me hate music'.' Finally, we talk about another of their own songs, the sublime, festival-primed anthem Neon Moon, which closes No Rain, No Flowers. Written with Daniel Tashian, Auerbach modestly calls it a 'first-take jam' but that doesn't really do it justice. 'I think it just started with the 'neon moon' lyric,' he says. 'We just fell right into it, started playing it and luckily we were recording.' As the song gets into its stride, he sings: 'Don't let yourself get down too long.' It's a line that The Black Keys have taken to heart. THE BLACK KEYS No Rain, No Flowers ★★★★☆
