We’re only two weeks into the year and 2024 is already shaping up to be a huge year for music. Adding to the excitement is a new single from The Black Keys which not only features an exciting collaboration with Beck and producer Dan the Automator (Kool Keith, Deltron 3000, etc.), but anticipates a full LP of collaborations from the Akron duo titled Ohio Players. “We had this epiphany: ‘We can call our friends to help us make music,’” drummer Patrick Carney noted in a press release. “It’s funny because we both write songs with other people—Dan [Auerbach] all the time [as a solo artist and producer], me when I'm producing a record. That’s what we do.”
The record drops less than two years after 2022’s Dropout Boogie, yet Auerbach noted that they took their time on the record to get it just right. “We'd never worked harder to make a record,” he shared. “It's never taken us this long to make an album. We took our time and did it right.” Carney also added that the goal this time around was purely to make something fun—and to have fun while doing it. “What we wanted to accomplish with this record was make something [...] that most bands 20 years into their career don’t make, which is an approachable, fun record that is also cool.”
As mentioned, the lead single “Beautiful People (Stay High)” arrives today with features from Beck and Dan the Automator—and, as promised by the band, it’s a slice of thrift-store funk-rock rivaling the catchiness of “Lonely Boy” and “Tighten Up.” Check out a vintage lyric video for the track below.
