More than any other Black Keys album, El Camino is an outright party, playing like a collection of 11 lost 45 singles, each one having a bigger beat or dirtier hook than the previous side. What’s being said doesn’t matter as much as how it’s said: El Camino is all trash and flash and it’s highly addictive.
. ' Released: October 26, 2011. ' Released: February 27, 2012. 'Dead and Gone' Released: May 21, 2012. 'Run Right Back' Released: July 23, 2012.
' Released: October 8, 2012 El Camino is the seventh studio album by American duo. It was co-produced by and the group, and was released on on December 6, 2011. The record was the band's follow-up to their commercial breakthrough, (2010), and was their third collaboration with Danger Mouse. El Camino draws from popular genres of the to, such as,. Danger Mouse contributed as a co-writer on each of the 11 songs alongside guitarist and drummer. The album was recorded from March to May 2011 in, at Easy Eye Sound Studio, which Auerbach opened the year prior. The band approached writing and recording differently than on previous albums, as they entered the studio without having written any material and deliberated longer on how to structure songs.
After struggling to translate the slower songs from Brothers to a live setting, the band wrote more, -laden tracks for El Camino. The album's depicts a minivan similar to one the group toured in early in their career, but in an inside joke, they named the record after the muscle car. A faux newspaper advertisement and parody car commercial playing on this joke were used to promote the record prior to release. ' was released as the lead single in October 2011 and became the group's highest-charting single in several countries, including the United States, Australia, and Canada. The album received positive reviews from critics and was ranked by many publications as one of the year's best albums. It debuted at number two on the US and reached the top five of the album charts in Australia, Canada, Belgium (Flanders), and New Zealand.
The album was certified platinum in France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the US, as well as multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The Black Keys supported the album with the, their first headlining arena tour. Four additional singles were released, including ' and ', which were rock radio successes. Among other accolades, El Camino won the award for at the, while 'Lonely Boy' received honors for. The album has sold 1.4 million copies in the US. Contents. Background From 2001 to 2009, the Black Keys experienced underground success, but after the release of their critically acclaimed sixth studio album, the group achieved a commercial breakthrough.
The single ' was a on radio, eventually spending 10 weeks at number one on 's chart in the United States and becoming their first song to enter the. The album debuted at number three on the chart and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide, including 870,000 copies in the US. The band also gained additional exposure by continuing to their songs in popular media, making them ' most-licensed band of the year. At the in February 2011, the band won awards for (for Brothers) and (for 'Tighten Up'). The band's sudden success proved overwhelming, as they found themselves booking additional promotional commitments and facing demand for additional touring dates. In January 2011, the group canceled concerts in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, citing exhaustion, thus clearing out most of their touring schedule into April.
Drummer said, 'We've been touring long enough to know when we're about to hit our breaking point.' The desire to record another album soon after Brothers also led to the decision. Carney said, 'We could have waited another year or so, and milked the Brothers album and kept touring, but we like bands, and our favourite bands growing up and even today, are bands that put out a lot of music and every album is different from the last.'
Recording El Camino was recorded in, at Easy Eye Sound Studio, which was opened by guitarist/vocalist in mid-2010 after he relocated from the group's long-time hometown of. Carney spoke of how the success of Brothers impacted the follow-up record: 'For me, there were physical jitters about everything that was going on. Seeing how big the shows were getting, feeling like people were paying attention, kind of made me anxious, and I think that's part of the reason El Camino 's songs are so fast. I think we wanted to just muscle through it.'
Despite the growing expectations of the band, Carney said that the El Camino recording sessions were much more relaxed than those for Brothers, during which he had been dealing with his divorce. Co-produced the record and contributed as an equal songwriter with the band. The band hired to co- the record with them, based on their experience with him producing their 2008 album and the single 'Tighten Up'. Danger Mouse served as co-writer for all of the songs on El Camino. Speaking of their willingness to involve him in the songwriting process, Carney said, 'It took us a long time to be able to trust somebody like that, and not be arrogant little kids about it.'
Auerbach said, 'It was difficult at times. Some days it worked great. Some days it was just infuriating. You gotta lose any kind of insecurity. It was a totally different way of thinking for me.' Recording for El Camino began on March 3, 2011. In contrast to their previous records, the Black Keys entered the studio for their new album without having developed any new material, with the exception of the lyrics to ', which Auerbach and Danger Mouse had pre-written.
Each day, the band began from scratch and in Auerbach's words, 'brainstormed until we had songs and we did a song every two days or so'. The material was then refined over several days, and after were agreed upon, the group quickly finished recording the songs, often in just one or two. Each song was recorded in a live take of guitar and drums before were added. This was done to give the music what Auerbach called 'that human element, that live feel'. Similarly, the group eschewed playing to a, despite a tendency to speed up during choruses, to keep a natural feel in the performance. 'Dead and Gone' was the first song to be completed.
The band recorded using a that was first installed in Nashville's Creative Workshop studio in 1969 and later bought by Auerbach from a man in North Carolina. During the sessions, the band listened to playback of their progress on a speaker they purchased from after the last day of recording Brothers. Guitar and drums tracks were recorded in the studio's ', while vocals were recorded in the. The studio's bathrooms served as an for recording vocals. For the first time, the band deliberated over the musical details of each song. Auerbach said, 'we were getting into the nuances of each song by asking ourselves, 'How long should this intro be? How long should the pre-chorus be?
Should there even be a pre-chorus?' We were playing with tempos and BPMs, seeing how a vocal hook does or doesn't work at a faster speed.
And usually, we went with the faster option.' Differing from the band's lyrics-first approach on Brothers, the lyrics for El Camino were written after the music, often being improvised at the microphone. Explaining their focus on melody, Auerbach said, 'the words had to fit in this pre-existing space.
It was really confining and totally different from anything I'd done before.' The sessions for El Camino lasted through May 26, 2011, and overall, the band spent 41 days recording, the longest time spent on any of their albums. And were completed in mid-June. Composition. Were one of the groups cited by the Black Keys as a musical influence on El Camino.
El Camino follows the Black Keys' style but places less emphasis on than the group's previous records. The album instead draws more influence from other popular genres from the to the, including,. Carney explained the album's direction, 'After the first three or four songs were recorded, it kind of became apparent that they're all rooted in this early rock and roll feel. It was around that time that we decided to make a whole album that was built around that.' The band cited several older musical acts as musical influences on the album, including,. Following the sonic expansion on their previous two albums, and Brothers, for El Camino they sought to strip-down their sound by writing an album of 'efficient rock-and-roll songs and minimal instrumentation'.
In contrast to some of the slower, quieter tracks from Brothers, the songs on El Camino are more and employ more and guitar. During the tour for Brothers, the Black Keys realized that many of that album's songs were too slow to effectively translate to a live setting, leading them to write more fast-paced material for El Camino. Carney said, 'This record stemmed from that, the fact that it's easier for our songs to come across well live if they are fast. So we were just trying to make a guitar rock album that was more upbeat than anything we've ever recorded.'
Realizing halfway through the recording sessions that all the songs they had written to that point were uptempo, the group decided to maintain the faster pace as a common thread throughout the album. Packaging and title. The vehicle on the cover is not the album's namesake, a ( top), but rather a ( bottom) similar to the one the duo used to tour in. The album was named after the, a car.
The inspiration came from the band sighting an El Camino while on tour in Canada in 2010; Carney admitted that the title was selected 'as a joke'. 'El camino' is Spanish for 'the road' or 'the path'.
The band found out the phrase's meaning after selecting it as an album title, and they joked about the record taking on deeper meaning afterwards. Andy Gill of said of the title, 'it's a nod to the pilgrimage of dues-paying, the months of one-night-stands in tiny Midwest towns which hone raw talent into rock'n'roll gold.'
, the duo's art director and Patrick's brother, was initially hesitant about the title. Patrick recounted the conversation with his brother about selecting the title and artwork: I told my brother the idea and my brother was like, 'You know, if you name the record El Camino, everybody's going to think of the car the El Camino.' And I was like, 'Yeah exactly. That's the fucking point!'
And he was like, 'OK, but why don't we just put a car on the cover that's not an El Camino?' And I said, 'OK, what kind of car?'
He says, 'Just put the first car you guys ever toured in on the cover.' The vehicle in the cover image is a similar to the navy blue one that the group toured in for the first year and a half of their career. Commenting on the puzzled reaction the group received to putting an image of a used van on the cover of an album named for a, Michael said, 'That's the reaction we were going for. It didn't work in Europe because they don't know what an El Camino is over there, so it made perfect sense to them.' Patrick compared the appearance of Akron to the cover image, calling his hometown 'A busted up parking lot with a busted up car.'
The interior sleeve booklet for the album features images of various vans from Akron, Ohio, including those produced under the brands,. Each copy of the album bears a sticker on the exterior that says 'Play loud'. Release Promotion Prior to the release of El Camino, promotional copies were limited to a small pressing of just 50, given mostly to music labels and the Black Keys'. Preview listens for journalists were strictly controlled to only one-time listens and they were held within the duo's manager's office, an uncommon practice within the music industry. The group opted to not put the record on services, citing financial reasons. Patrick Carney said that streaming services are not yet 'at a point where you're able to replace from record sales with the royalties from streams.
For a band that makes a living selling music, it's not at a point where it's feasible for us.' As is common practice for the band, several songs from the album were licensed for use in popular media, including 's Band of the Month for December, 's TV drama, and the video game. The group noted though that they were planning to reduce the amount of licensing in comparison to previous records to avoid overexposure. Carney said, 'When no one's buying your records, it's easy to justify selling a song. But once you start selling records, you can't really justify having two songs in Cadillac commercials. It looks greedy.' According to Michael Carney, the promotional strategy for the album embraces 'the spirit of doing it the wrong way'.
COO Livia Tortella elaborated that 'They've latched onto that idea at a time when the real spirit of alternative has, in many ways, gone away from our music. The spirit of rock should be that: outside of the norm, not just mainstream and predictable.' The originally shot for their lead single ' employed a big budget and several people, but the band decided instead to release a video consisting solely of footage of an extra–actor and part-time security guard Derrick Tuggle–dancing. The video went, garnering more than 400,000 views on in 24 hours.
On October 9, 2011, the band placed an ad in the advertising their used tour van as a '1994 El Camino' for sale. The ad read, '1994 El Camino: 273,000 mi. 200 cubic-in. 3.3L 95hp V-6 engine, 3-speed turbo autom shift, sapphire stylus, some ticks/pops, light surface noise.
Working AM/FM radio, tan metalflake/woodie panels, some rust. Black vinyl seats. Priced to sell – Grab the Keys and go! Contact Pat or Dan at (330) 510–1206.' The phone number in the ad led to a recorded message of Patrick Carney describing the car and asking for the caller to leave a message.
The band launched the promotional website WannaBuyAVan.com with a video parodying a low-budget used car commercial for the same van. Actor/comedian plays the salesman in the video trying to pass off the van as an El Camino. The album's release date of December 6, 2011, contrasts with the conventional record release strategy within the music industry.
Carney said, 'There's a rule you release albums in February–March, then you tour the summer. Then there's the September–October schedule. Our new album is out on December 6. I asked the label for a list of major rock bands that had released albums in December. In the last 10 years there's maybe four. But our manager said it's a shame more bands don't, 'cos it would force the industry not to shut down.'
The group had intended to release El Camino in September but decided to push it until December to allow for a three-month break. Ultimately, they booked this free time up with additional concerts and a promotional tour. A week prior to the release date, the duo decided to stream five tracks from El Camino on their website after the album leaked online. The Black Keys appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on December 3, 2011, for the second time that year, and they performed 'Lonely Boy' and '. Two days later, the group held an album release concert at in New York City that was streamed live on MTVHive.com. The group made several appearances on late-night talk shows, including and, as well as at the 2011.
The group was the subject of a cover story in for their issue dated January 19, 2012; in a widely publicized quote, Carney criticized Canadian rock band, saying that 'rock and roll is dying because people became OK with Nickelback being the biggest band in the world'. Singles 'Lonely Boy' was released as the album's lead single on October 26, 2011, and became one of the group's most successful singles. It topped several rock radio charts, including the and charts in the US, and the charts in Canada.
On the singles charts, 'Lonely Boy' was the group's highest-charting song in several countries, peaking at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 2 on the, and number 33 on the. 'Lonely Boy' was certified nine-times platinum in Canada, triple-platinum in Australia, platinum in New Zealand, and gold in Denmark. 'Gold on the Ceiling' was released as the album's second single, and like its predecessor, it topped the US Alternative Songs chart and the Canadian Alternative Rock and Active Rock charts.
On the singles charts, the song reached number 94 on the Hot 100, number 34 on the Australian Singles Chart, and number 51 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song was certified platinum in Australia and Canada. 'Dead and Gone' was released as a third single in Europe, while 'Run Right Back' was released as a fourth single in the United Kingdom. ' was released as the record's fifth single on October 8, 2012, and was a rock radio success; it peaked at number two on the US Alternative Songs chart and the Canadian Alternative Rock and Active Rock charts, as well as number 54 on the Canadian Hot 100. Reception Critical reaction Professional ratings Aggregate scores Source Rating 84/100 Review scores Source Rating A– 7/10 7.4/10 8/10 El Camino received acclaim from music critics.
According to review aggregator website, the album received an average review score of 84/100 based on 37 reviews, indicating 'Universal acclaim'. Critics mainly praised the instrumentation of the songs on the album, as well as the album production.
Gave the record an 8/10 rating, calling it 'irresistibly gaudy' and 'catchier, glitzier, ballsier'. The reviewer said the songs contain 'classic cock-rock sonic tchotchkes: handclaps, talk-box guitar breaks, rainbow keyboards.
The overall effect is something akin to with glitter in their beards.' Melissa Maerz of gave the record an 'A–', writing that the group 'make a small-room racket that sounds massive enough for a bigger-is-better world'. Maerz said that ' El Camino trades the soulful stylings of Brothers for harder-driving, faster-riffing rock & roll'. James Lachno of rated the album four-stars-out-of-five, praising Danger Mouse for 'sharpening up the sweet, melodic choruses that offset the duo's unholy racket' and give each song a 'timeless quality, as suited to a Seventies mid-west saloon as a students' indie disco'. Despite what Lachno judged to be 'tawdry' lyrics, he said that 'the Black Keys are here to rock, not talk. On this evidence, few bands right now do it better.'
Randall Roberts of the assigned the album a maximum four-star rating, calling it 'butt-shaking music' and 'an album with lyrics that are both unpretentious and un-dumb'. Roberts praised the nostalgic elements of the group's music and said that the album 'scratches an itch you didn't even know you had'. Michael Hann of gave the record a maximum rating of five stars, writing that it is 'dripping with an easy, attractive confidence'.
Commenting on the various musical influences on the album, Hann said, 'they stride fearlessly into areas that might once have been off-limits'. His review concluded, 'They sound like a band who think they've made the year's best rock'n'roll album, probably because that's exactly what they've done.' Rob Harvilla of scored El Camino a 7.4/10 and called it 'their best and (not coincidentally) goofiest album'. Describing the music, he said, 'The riffs are glam-nasty, the lyrics sublimely knuckleheaded, the basslines nimble and bombastic, the mood frivolous and fun and unabashedly corny.'
Will Hermes of rated the album four stars and called it their 'grandest pop gesture yet, augmenting dark-hearted fuzz blasts with sleekly sexy choruses and Seventies-glam flair'. Writer rated the album four stars and said, 'More than any other Black Keys album, El Camino is an outright party, playing like a collection of 11 lost, each one having a bigger beat or dirtier hook than the previous side.' Kitty Empire of was more critical of the album; in a three-star review, Empire commented that it sounded like Danger Mouse 'tightened up the Black Keys' act rather than loosened it' and that ' El Camino may be fast and fun, but it is also somewhat undemanding.' The reviewer noted that the album had 'increased vigour', but that it came at the expense of 'the subtleties that made Brothers such an intriguing ride.' Commercial performance In the US, El Camino debuted at number two on the and sold 206,000 copies in its first week on sale.
This marks the highest single-week album sales and, to that point, charting position that the group had achieved in the country. In Canada, the album debuted at number three on the and sold 27,000 copies in its first week. In its first two weeks on sale, El Camino sold nearly 293,000 copies in the US.
The album has been certified: triple-platinum in Canada; double-platinum in Australia and New Zealand; double-platinum in the U.S., United Kingdom, and Ireland; and gold in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. As of April 2014, the album has sold 1.4 million copies in the United States. Accolades El Camino appeared on several end-of-year rankings by music publications and critics.
The album was ranked by as the sixth-best album of 2012, even though it was released in 2011. Ranked it as the ninth-best album of 2011, while Rolling Stone ranked it as the 12th-best. The album placed 21st on the 'Best Albums' list from 's 2011 critics' poll. Ranked the record as the 22nd-best of the year before it had been released. Spin placed it at number 36 on its list of the 50 best albums of the year, writing, 'Glam-blooze guitar, poppy melodies, and hockey-rink keyboards fit the Keys like vintage denim.' Claire Suddath of magazine and Andrew Leahey of both named El Camino one of the Top 10 Albums of 2011, while the staff of AllMusic selected the album as one of their favorites of the year. In end-of-year polls, writers for Rolling Stone selected 'Little Black Submarines' as the 18th-best song of 2011, while the publication's readers voted 'Lonely Boy' the year's third-best song.
At the, The Black Keys won the award for for El Camino, and and for 'Lonely Boy'. Auerbach was honored as for co-producing El Camino and producing records by Hacienda. The Black Keys also received nominations for for El Camino and for 'Lonely Boy'.
The Black Keys performing at in March 2012 In December 2011, The Black Keys announced a 2012 concert tour, their first playing arenas as a headlining act. The tour opened in Europe on January 23, 2012 with three weeks of shows, before visiting North America from March to May. The tour made multiple return visits to Europe and North America throughout the year, while also visiting Australasia from October through November. In total, the group played 112 shows in 2012. Among the support acts that accompanied the band were,.
After tickets went on sale, The Black Keys' concert at in New York City sold out in 15 minutes, resulting in the addition of a second date at the venue to satisfy demand. The tour grossed $12.7 million in 2012, and after 129 shows, it ended on July 13, 2013.
Just as it did on its previous tour, the group added bassist Gus Seyffert and keyboardist/guitarist John Wood as touring musicians in order to perform songs as close to their studio arrangements as possible. Auerbach explained the decision for the expanded live band: 'It wasn't about the size of the venue. It was just that we could afford to do it and our songs deserved it. We wanted to finally present the songs like we'd written them.' During the middle portion of each concert, Auerbach and Carney played older material as a duo without the backing musicians.
Many critics singled these performances out as the shows' highlights. The concert stage used a setup with a lighting system and video projections designed. The lighting comprised four banks of on-stage vintage spotlights, along with two and a lighted sign bearing the band's name that were lowered for the encores. Lemieux's video, which was projected onto a white sheet at the stage's rear, incorporated black-and-white footage of junkyards, deserts, and open highways.
Carney explained that the band was aiming for a retro aesthetic, saying, 'We kind of wanted to make the whole stage look like an old-school rock 'n' roll show, as much as possible. We're referencing bands in the '70s, what they were doing when they were playing arenas.' Moreover, the footage was meant to pay homage to the group's origins.
Auerbach said, 'We wanted it to represent our music and the Midwest where we're from, the Rust Belt and open spaces. We find that stuff beautiful and uplifting.' Track listing All tracks written by,. Title Length 1. 'Dead and Gone' 3:41 3. 'Money Maker' 2:57 6. 'Run Right Back' 3:17 7.
'Sister' 3:25 8. 'Hell of a Season' 3:45 9. 'Stop Stop' 3:30 10. 'Nova Baby' 3:27 11. 'Mind Eraser' 3:15 Total length: 38:18 Personnel.
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Ultratop.be (in Dutch). Retrieved July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2014. (PDF) (in Italian). Archived from (PDF) on January 19, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
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With the music industry as a whole languishing, the rock genre is perhaps suffering the most; even stadium-level groups like Coldplay and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are finding it difficult to repeat past success. So with the Black Keys poised to establish their place among the top tier of rock acts, the stakes for “El Camino” are especially high. The early signs are encouraging. The album’s first single, the buzz-saw shimmy “Lonely Boy,” went straight to the Top 5 of the rock and alternative charts. The Black Keys are taking full advantage of the doors opened by their last album, appearing this weekend on “Saturday Night Live” (for the second time this year), followed by “The Colbert Report” on Tuesday and “Late Show With David Letterman” on Wednesday. And the duo just announced their first headlining appearance at Madison Square Garden on March 12 — 10 years to the month after their first-ever show.
Craig Pape, director of Amazon Music, said in an e-mail that “El Camino” was “currently our top-pre-order title,” adding, “It’s tough to be heard and to attract a large fan base these days but artists like the Black Keys, Adele and Mumford & Sons show that strong repertory will win fans and drive sales success.” Photo. The Black Keys headlined a SummerStage benefit show in Central Park in July 2010 before their album “Brothers” brought them three Grammys this year. Credit Willie Davis for The New York Times At this pivotal moment in their career it’s particularly notable that for “El Camino” the Black Keys decided to try a risky experiment. They started the album with no songs written, no sketches or plans, and hoped for the best.
“Maybe we’re just not very bright,” Mr. Auerbach said with a grin, sipping tea in the back room of his cluttered Easy Eye Sound studio, as vintage gospel music played softly on a high-tech turntable. “If we’d been smart, we would have kept it like our successful record.” Mr. Carney echoed the sentiment. “That would be the logical way of thinking about it — if you’re thinking about a business model, like if you have a coffee shop and your new flavor of muffin takes off,” he said. “But with music, I think maintaining the status quo is when you kind of give up.” The album is also the first that the duo recorded in their new hometown.
Auerbach, 32, and Mr. Carney, 31, who first met in high school, moved last fall from their lifelong home, Akron, Ohio, to Nashville, where Mr. Auerbach had built the Easy Eye studio in an industrial section of town, the better to accommodate their relentless work ethic. Advertisement Mr. Auerbach, who has a wife and 4-year-old daughter, said that the sound of “El Camino” mirrors the pace of their lives during the lengthy promotion of “Brothers”— they were bouncing back and forth between touring and recording — and the influence of the up-tempo rock that they were listening to, including the Clash, the Sweet, the Cars, and a lot of ’50s rockabilly.
He also said that they wanted to create more stripped-down songs that they could perform onstage. “A lot of the songs from ‘Brothers’ were too difficult to play live,” he said during an early lunch with his band mate. “We were trying to make a record that we would have fun playing in front of people.” Mr.
Auerbach and Mr. Carney laughed about being the only male patrons of the upscale home-style restaurant, but they were visibly nervous before making their first attempts at translating the “El Camino” songs live. After lunch they headed to the Soundcheck rehearsal studios and got straight to work, augmented by two Los Angeles musicians: John Wood on keyboards and Gus Seyffert on bass. The next afternoon they were just as focused. The instant they were in the room they started bashing away. Carney removed his jacket, revealing a University of Akron “Zap Em Zips!” T-shirt.
With few words and few interruptions they knocked out one song after another for hours at a time, cranking through almost the entire album over two days. The Black Keys, Patrick Carney (seated, far left) and Dan Auerbach, have collaborated with musicians like Brian Burton, a k a Danger Mouse, with guitar, left, and at right, the rappers Jim Jones and Mos Def, foreground. Credit John Peets The three-guitar arrangement of the scuzzy gallop “Run Right Back” took a few tries to sort out, and the acoustic-to-electric transition in the Led Zeppelin-style power ballad “Little Black Submarines” needed some attention.
Quickly, though, the tensions eased, and they were expressing relief and delight that the new material felt so comfortable. Auerbach and Mr.
Carney recognize the powerful image and iconography of a duo, they insist that their configuration was never intended as a statement, that adding other instruments and musicians is a natural progression. “All of this was born out of necessity,” said Mr. Carney, the more voluble of the pair.
“The options in Akron of people who even liked the music we liked were limited to, like, two guys who would rather get stoned and play video games than come to rehearsal. So we decided we’d just do it as a two-piece and keep working until something bigger happened. Now the sound has changed, but we still like to play shows, we like to tour, and the idea of not being able to make the music we want just because we started out as a duo seems a little crazy.”.
Since their 2002 debut, “The Big Come Up,” which was recorded in Mr. Carney’s basement and released on the tiny Alive Records, the Black Keys have increased album and ticket sales each time out. In 2006 they signed with Nonesuch Records (a division of Warner Brothers), and their live reputation started to convert to bigger crowds and better festival bookings.
Big-name fans like Radiohead and Robert Plant were talking up the band. Its hard-hitting grooves also gained a surprisingly strong following in the hip-hop world — so much so that in 2009 the Black Keys recorded “Blakroc,” a project in which the duo played behind rappers like the RZA, Mos Def and Q-Tip. Advertisement Things were primed for the May 2010 release of “Brothers,” which was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Ala., following the dissolution of Mr.
Carney’s marriage. The album entered the charts at No.
3, and Black Keys songs were licensed for so many television shows and commercials that the band good-naturedly participated in a “sellout-off” with Vampire Weekend on “The Colbert Report.” “They made every right step, and they never rushed it,” said John Moore, the founder of Bowery Presents, in a telephone interview. “It seems like the perfect rise.” Mr. Moore, whose company is promoting the Madison Square Garden show and first presented the Black Keys at the Mercury Lounge in 2002, mentioned Arcade Fire as the only other rock band of their generation with comparable arena status. The Black Keys, in the Easy Eye studio that Mr.
Auerbach built in Nashville. Credit Josh Anderson for The New York Times The comical video for — in which grade-school versions of Mr. Carney and Mr. Auerbach battle for the affections of a girl on a playground, until the men pummel each other for the attention of her mother — provided the final spark. The clip is nearing 15 million views on YouTube.
Auerbach admitted, however, that he initially resisted the song that changed the trajectory of the Black Keys’ career. “I was so uncomfortable with ‘Tighten Up’ when we recorded it,” he said. “I didn’t want it to be on the record. It was too clean or something. But when we play it live, it’s fun as hell, and any reservations I had were just stupid.” The song stayed on “Brothers” at the insistence of Brian Burton, who produces and performs as Danger Mouse. It was the one track he produced on the record, after working on the previous Black Keys album, 2008’s “Attack and Release.” In addition to co-producing “El Camino” with the Mr. Auerbach and Mr.
Burton — who has recorded as part of Gnarls Barkley and Broken Bells, and has recently been in the studio with U2 — was a co-writer and an equal third voice alongside the Black Keys. “It took us a long time to be able to trust somebody like that, and not be arrogant little kids about it,” Mr. Advertisement An element that’s conspicuously absent from “El Camino” is the blues influence that informed early Black Keys records and came to define the band for many. “I don’t think many people understood, from the beginning, what we were into,” Mr. Auerbach said.
“Everybody thinks we’re a blues band. Pat hates blues music, and I haven’t even listened to a blues record in a long time.” “There’s no way we would ever just want to be one thing,” he added, citing the impact of the Wu-Tang Clan and Southern soul on their original vision. They maintain that, for all the changes they’ve seen and awards they’ve won in the last 18 months, their ascent was sufficiently gradual that it wasn’t too disruptive. “If it had been our second record, it would have been different,” Mr.
Auerbach said. “But we’re not about to compromise ourselves now. We make a good living touring and playing shows to a fan base we’ve grown for 10 years. We don’t feel like we have to have a radio hit or it’s curtains.”.