Latest news with #PatrickCarney
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
Wall Street Journal
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘No Rain, No Flowers' Review: The Black Keys Attempt a Reset
The Black Keys had a rough year in 2024, which was notable because the two-piece rock outfit—singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney—has historically been light on drama. A series of undersold arena gigs led to a canceled tour and the firing of their management. After the announcement of the band's participation in a pre-election show sponsored by a pro-cryptocurrency organization, the Black Keys seemed lost and in danger of losing what had taken decades to build. Yes, at one point there was a minor feud with Jack White of fellow Midwestern blues-inspired garage-rock duo the White Stripes, and Mr. Carney has posted playfully confrontational rhetoric online from time to time. But personality has taken a backseat to music through most of the group's career, so it was odd for its members to be at the center of controversy. From its title on down, 'No Rain, No Flowers' (Easy Eye Sound/Warner), the band's 13th album, out now, feels like an attempt to get back on track. It comes across as the Black Keys retreating to a place of comfort, as it imbues its rock with a bit more pop while adding a fashionable smidgen of psychedelia.
Daily Mail
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Adrian Thrills reviews The Black Keys' new album No Rain, No Flowers. And finds the Ohio duo moving away from funk and back to their raw roots
THE BLACK KEYS: No Rain, No Flowers (Parlophone) Verdict: Blues-rockers in bloom. Never a band to stand still for too long, American blues duo The Black Keys have taken to hosting their own club nights — or 'record hangs' — in their spare time. Playing an eclectic mixture of vintage soul and rockabilly on vinyl, musicians-turned-DJs Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have used the parties to expand their musical horizons. The nights have also had a knock-on effect on their live shows, which now feature covers such as Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through The Grapevine; and how they approach the studio. Their last album, 2024's Ohio Players, embraced pop and soul with such relish that some saw it as a betrayal of their bluesy, garage-rock roots. Their latest offering, No Rain, No Flowers, delivers more of the rawness that was a hallmark of earlier albums. The blistering guitar that Auerbach delivers on tracks such as Man On A Mission wouldn't have sounded out of place on 2010's Brothers or 2011's El Camino. But this is still a group going for the commercial jugular with slick choruses and infectious hooks. On their previous album, the band, originally from Akron but now based in Nashville, collaborated with Noel Gallagher, Beck and Alice Cooper. This time, they've changed tack and worked with elite songwriters rather than performers, with Kacey Musgraves' producer Daniel Tashian, keyboardist Scott Storch and musician Rick Nowels all chipping in. The presence of Nowels, co-writer of Belinda Carlisle's 1980s hit Heaven Is A Place On Earth, is immediately apparent. The title track, which opens the LP, is a catchy, optimistic anthem destined to be sung back at the band in a huge arena. 'There's evil people in this world,' cautions Auerbach, before promisiing that 'it won't be long 'til we're back in the sun.' The upbeat mood continues into The Night Before, a funky track co-written with Tashian, and Babygirl, a retro-R&B number driven by Storch's organ, piano and clavichord. Both tracks feature the kind of warm, analogue production you might hear on an old seven-inch single. The rawness of old sometimes resurfaces: Down To Nothing is a 1960-style period piece; A Little Too High a Telecaster-driven stomp that finds The Black Keys back in their original, bluesy world. The best moments pair soulful sounds with lyrics of pain and regret. 'Darkness when you left me, heartache since you've been away,' laments Auerbach during On Repeat, while Make You Mine is an old-school ballad. 'I've cried The Tears Of A Clown,' sings Auerbach, nodding to Smokey Robinson's Motown classic. If that sounds downbeat, the album ends on a positive note. Frontman Auerbach and drummer Carney have seen some behind-the-scenes upheaval in the past year, with a change of management and record label, and Neon Moon celebrates the fresh start. 'A change is coming soon,' promises Auerbach. 'You can always find your way back home, by the light of the neon moon.' A ballad recorded in a single take, it rubber-stamps a return that balances hit-making instincts with a love of the blues. GOOD CHARLOTTE: Motel Du Cap (Atlantic) Verdict: Worth checking in Rating: The Eagles gave us Hotel California, while The Doors hung out at the Morrison Hotel. Before that, Elvis Presley found a new place to dwell, down at the end of Lonely Street, at Heartbreak Hotel. Given that musicians have such a long-standing relationship with such establishments, it was only going to be a matter of time before someone added to the list. Step forward American pop-punk outfit Good Charlotte, now residing, according to their latest album, at the Motel Du Cap. Its title inspired by a private gig that the Maryland band played two years ago at the luxury Hôtel Du Cap-Eden-Roc on the French Riviera, it's the group's first new LP since 2018's Generation Rx — and that hotel show played a key role in its creation. 'That night became the heartbeat of the album,' explains singer Joel Madden, who fronts the band with his guitar-playing twin brother Benji. 'It became a love letter to stripping things back and letting the music speak for itself.' The record puts the public focus back on Good Charlotte's songwriting rather than their business interests and celebrity relationships. Joel and Benji run their own music management company and are married to Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz respectively. But they pull out the stops as musicians here, rebooting their traditional sound while weaving country, rap and orchestral strings into the mix. It's business as usual at first. After voice actor Marcus Anderson welcomes listeners to the motel with a spoken-word intro, the guitars are cranked up on Rejects, an angsty anthem in the style of the band's 2002 breakthrough album The Young And The Hopeless. With punky pop enjoying a renaissance thanks to young contenders like Olivia Rodrigo and Reneé Rapp, it's a timely return. Things get more varied as guests appear. Rapper Wiz Khalifa changes the mood on the mellow but optimistic Life Is Great, while two fellow Marylanders fly the flag for the band's home state: country singer Luke Borchelt duets on Deserve You; female newcomer Zeph (Zephani Jong) adds a bedroom pop flavour on Pink Guitar. There's a sense that Motel Du Cap is a bid to cement Good Charlotte's legacy. Closing track GC Forever starts with audio clips from old interviews before growing into an autobiographical ballad. 'We were built to last, we stayed together,' sings Joel. If the group can add European shows to the festival dates planned for North and South America, this could be a comeback with real purpose.
Extra.ie
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Album Review: The Black Keys, No Rain, No Flowers
Grammy Award-winning duo return with eclectic 13th LP. 7.5/10 It could be safely argued that Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have grown ever more commercial in their musical output over the years. The Ohio duo's early albums spilled over with raw garage blues-rock, but since their breakthrough sixth record, Brothers, in 2010, they've gradually toned down the noise and turned up the radio-friendliness. There's nothing wrong with wanting more people to hear your songs and if you can make a few dollars at the same time, more power to ye. And there are still huge swathes of this 13th long-player that are easily recognisable as The Black Keys, from the vintage r'n'b of 'Babygirl' to the crunching guitar assault of 'Man On A Mission' (complete with Sabbath-esque middle-eight) or 'A Little Too High', whose gospel-tinged southern boogie sounds like Primal Scream covering the Allman Brothers. However, this album is perhaps a little wilfully eclectic for its own good. Apparently inspired by the band's 'record hangs', where Auerbach and Carney take turns spinning rare vinyl, it's a melting pot of genres and styles that feels more like a compilation than a cohesive album in its own right. The mid-paced title track could be an Arcade Fire cast-off, albeit a decent one. The laid-back guitar pop of 'Kiss It' is Steely Dan jamming with Jack White, while the yearning 'Neon Moon' is the sound of U2's '40' put through a Creedence blender. The extremely polished 'Make You Mine' has a falsetto chorus straight from the Bee Gees songbook in their Seventies' pomp, and yet it's impossible to dislike – indeed, the more listens you give it, the more you realise its brilliance. So a little too shiny and genre-fluid, perhaps, although still bursting at the seams with hummable melodies.
The Sun
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
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. 3 3 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. 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'. 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 ★★★★☆ 3
