The Black Keys have advised NME about how their new album ‘No Rain, No Flowers’ marks an optimistic new chapter for them after a chaotic 2024. Take a look at mesmerising new single ‘Man On A Mission’ under, together with our interview with the duo.
Information of their thirteenth album arrived final month, scorching on the heels of final 12 months’s ‘Ohio Gamers’. Right this moment (June 20), The Black Keys have shared the newest preview of the album after the title monitor, ‘The Night time Earlier than’ and ‘Babygirl’, within the type of fascinating ‘Man On A Mission’.
Set for launch on August 8 by way of Straightforward Eye Sound/Parlophone (pre-order right here), the file additionally follows a tumultuous time for frontman Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, with them being pressured to scrap a complete tour and half methods with their administration.
Because the title suggests, ‘No Rain, No Flowers’ was born out of that battle, and sees the duo undertake a optimistic perspective in direction of their previous grievances – getting into an uplifting new chapter.
“ We had been extraordinarily annoyed after we had a tour cancelled,” frontman Dan Auerbach tells NME. “There was extra to it than the tour, it’s an enormous, lengthy story, however in the end making this file helped us work by way of it.
“We’re nonetheless feeling the unfavorable results of the connection that we needed to break up with. It nonetheless is beneath our pores and skin and pisses us off, however making this file undoubtedly was useful. We would have liked to get in there and create, with the intention to work by way of our feelings.”
In addition to utilizing the file to shake off previous agitations, it additionally introduces new collaborations. Whereas their 2024 album noticed them workforce up with big names like Noel Gallagher and Beck, this time round, they’ve joined forces with a number of the songwriting giants who function behind the scenes.
Rick Nowels, who labored with Auerbach on Lana Del Rey’s ‘Ultraviolence’ took to the piano for the writing periods, whereas others who helped craft the 11-song tracklist included Scott Storch [Dr. Dre, Nas] and Daniel Tashian [Kacey Musgraves].
Take a look at our interview with the band under, the place they inform us about therapeutic after the tour drama, working with their favorite songwriters, ideas on new expertise, and if we’ll be seeing them at any Oasis reveals with their pal Noel this summer time.
NME: Hello Dan and Patrick. You’re again with new music only one 12 months on from ‘Ohio Gamers’. Why was this the fitting time for a brand new album?
Dan Auerbach: “ Properly, we had a tour that obtained cancelled after we launched ‘Ohio Gamers’ and we had all this surprising time on our fingers. We didn’t plan on making a file, however that’s what ended up taking place! We obtained into the studio and determined to achieve out to a few folks that we had all the time been involved in writing songs with. A kind of individuals was Rick Knowles. I labored with him on Lana’s file, and I assumed he [had] an ideal mixture of melancholy and pop.”
What sparked that curiosity to collaborate with songwriters this time round?
Auerbach: “Every has a unique strategy and a unique type. Knowles as an illustration, is a piano participant and we’d not written with a piano participant. So it was attention-grabbing to be 20 years into The Black Keys, and discovering one thing we’d by no means carried out earlier than.
“His entire writing type was very unusual. For ‘No Rain, No Flowers’ he had me sing the phrases in area with no piano, no guitar, no drums. Nothing. We’d by no means began a tune that manner, so it was attention-grabbing for us to be adapting to it. Every particular person concerned is somebody we’ve admired for a very long time, and the one factor all of them have in frequent is that they’re unbelievable songwriters that we actually respect.”
Patrick Carney: “ It was the identical with Noel Gallagher on the final album. We’ve been such large followers of him and his brother for a very long time, and after we tried to jot down a tune dwell within the studio, he advised us that he’d by no means simply written like that earlier than. I feel that’s a cool factor about collaboration – it’s all the time totally different and it sort of places you on the spot to ship.”
You talked about the 2024 tour cancellation being one thing that fuelled this file…
Carney: “We had simply put a-year-and-a-half into making an album that we had been extremely pleased with, and we had given the individuals round us sufficient time to set it up correctly. We allotted three and a half weeks for the European tour, however what was given to us was 9 tour dates. We couldn’t wrap our heads round it. You’ll be able to’t even pay on your crew and your flights with 9 tour dates… That’s why excursions are like three weeks lengthy, since you want like 15 [shows to break even]. The entire thing was simply utterly mismanaged and, mainly, it ended unceremoniously.
“We had been taking part in three bought out nights at Brixton Academy after we might have carried out 4, and two bought out nights at Zenith in Paris, and in Amsterdam we performed to 14,000 individuals. However the entire tour obtained actually combined round [when] our supervisor wished us to play a venue that they operated referred to as the Co-op Dwell in Manchester. The entire tour saved getting moved round as a result of this venue had no working water – so mainly our entire 12 months obtained fucked due to the wants of our supervisor.
“When all that shit went tits up and we obtained completely screwed 20+ years into the enterprise, the one factor we had left to do was to go make extra music and attempt to make the very best out of it. It’s a must to go and face some laborious shit and attempt to make changes to make it work.”
Are you feeling a newfound gratitude to be on the highway once more in 2025 in a manner that feels proper?
Auerbach: “ Yeah, however I feel we felt that manner whereas we had been making ‘Ohio Gamers’ too. We had been popping out of COVID-19 and at last attending to ebook excursions once more. We felt past grateful… after which we needed to undergo and mainly one other epidemic. So now I suppose we really feel further grateful! We’re on tour within the US, we’ve carried out two weeks of bought out reveals down the West coast they usually’ve been completely wonderful.”
Carney: “We’re going to locations we’ve by no means been to love Wilmington, North Carolina. It’s just a little city that we’ve by no means performed and 5,000 individuals need to come out to see us there. It’s good to have the ability to get out in entrance of the individuals once more and play music. It’s undoubtedly serving to us heal. We’ve gone from bars that maintain 150 individuals by way of to virtually each venue in most main cities. These venues that we’re taking part in now although are undoubtedly a few of our favourites. They all the time have been.”
Talking of your journey, it was within the 2010s that you simply grew to become a family identify. What’s it like wanting again at that interval now?
Carney: “I keep in mind we had gone from coming to London and taking part in to 30 individuals on the Camden Metro, by way of each venue till we had been capable of promote round 5,000 tickets. That is earlier than ‘Brothers’ got here out in 2010, and we thought we had been on the high. Then that file hit a complete new degree of success that we by no means actually assumed to be potential, and we began taking part in arenas.
“No band that we knew of was capable of do an area tour. Nirvana by no means did an actual area tour. The White Stripes by no means did an area tour, so it was a complete new strain cooker for us. It was very thrilling, however on the identical time, we had been on 10 consistently. In 2012 we headlined Coachella, Lollapalooza and Austin Metropolis limits. We had been direct help for Foo Fighters too, and we had gotten all these alternatives that we had by no means had earlier than.
“We simply stated ‘sure’ to all the pieces and it ended up burning us out. It was very draining, creatively. We had been mainly on tour from April 2010 to December 2014, and it was so intense that it fractured our relationship just a little bit and it fractured all of the relationships round us. There was an excessive amount of emphasis on putting whereas the iron’s scorching, and no emphasis on well being. It was like ‘How about you do an area tour across the whole world, after which additionally play each competition in the identical 12 months?’”
Now, 10 years on from that time, have you ever seen that your sound has impressed a brand new technology of artists?
Auerbach: “Undoubtedly. We’re touring with a band proper now referred to as The Heavy Heavy, they usually advised us that we had been large inspirations once they had been beginning out. We’re [also seeing it because] we each dedicate our free time to working with younger artists and making an attempt to offer them an additional head begin. We began a label [Easy Eye Sound], moved to Nashville and opened a studio the place we attempt to assist artists get going.”
What are your ideas on at present’s rising artists?
Carney: “ We take heed to music from throughout the board all day lengthy and there’s undoubtedly a tonne popping out proper now that I like. It’s a actually bizarre time for music although, and it’s most likely actually irritating to be a younger artist as a result of all the pieces rides on streaming numbers and issues that you would be able to’t management.
“After we first began, there was no possibility for us to get performed on the radio. There was no streaming. The primary time we ever skilled publicity was from the John Peel radio present. That sort of shit is gone now, it’s been changed with playlists. It’s a really laborious fucking enterprise. Like I stated earlier than, rising up, no bands I favored ever did an area tour, so to be anticipated to do this as a ‘regular degree’ of success is fucking psycho.”
Do you assume it’s nonetheless potential for brand spanking new expertise to achieve the identical ranges of success because the artists who got here up earlier than them?
Carney: “We’re mates with Clairo and love watching the success that she’s been having. So it’s potential, it’s undoubtedly potential.”
What does the long run appear like for The Black Keys?
Carney: “We’re nonetheless simply as excited to enter a studio and make a brand new tune at present as we had been 20 years in the past. Perhaps much more now as a result of we’ve got extra confidence and a broader vary of concepts. We’re having enjoyable, however simply making an attempt to tempo ourselves although, as a result of this summer time tour might be absolutely the max of what we are able to chew off. Our essential objective is to maintain it enjoyable and to not burn out.”
Talking of reveals going down this summer time, will you be heading to see Noel Gallagher once more on the Oasis reunion tour?
Carney: “We’re lacking them by a day in every single place! We’re in Mexico Metropolis the day earlier than they’re, and we’ve got an occasion in Nashville the following day, so we are able to’t stick round. Then we’re taking part in Manchester two days earlier than their first present there, so we’re simply lacking it once more!
“We’re excited for them to be doing that, although. We had a hunch that they might be getting again collectively simply primarily based on the way in which that they each had been talking about one another in 2023. We love them each. They’re so humorous and, whereas we don’t know them tremendous nicely, we’ve obtained to spend just a little little bit of time with them they usually’re so fucking enjoyable. They’re actually good, actually humorous guys. I’m most excited for Paul Gallagher although, our actual favorite Gallagher brother.”
The Black Keys are scheduled to play three outside UK reveals this summer time, going down at Leeds’ Millennium Sq., Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl, and London’s Alexandra Palace Park. Assist will come from Miles Kane and you may discover any remaining tickets right here.
They can even be embarking on plenty of European reveals later this month and into the beginning of July. Go to right here for worldwide tickets, and discover a checklist of upcoming reveals under.
JUNE
26 – Tinderbox, Odense (Denmark)
29 – Rockhal, Esch-Sur-Alzette (Luxembourg)
JULY
1 – Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin (Germany)
2 – The Corridor, Zurich (Switzerland)
4 – Garorock, Marmande (France)
5 – Beauregard Pageant, Herouville Saint Clair (France)
6 – La Nuit De L’Erdre (France)
8 – Millennium Sq., Leeds (UK)
9 – Castlefield Bowl, Manchester (UK)
11 – Alexandra Palace Park, London (UK)
12 – Cactus Pageant, Bruges (Belgium)
13 – Bospop Pageant, Weert (Netherlands)
15 – AMA Music Pageant, Vicenza (Italy)
16 – Rock In Roma, Ippodromo Delle Capannelle, Rome (Italy)
19 – Fib Benicàssim, Benicàssim (Spain)