The Black Keys Bury the Hatchet, Take Hallucinogens in First Video in Five Years
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney address rumors of friction and head out on a spiritual retreat
The Black Keys in a still from the "Go" music video.
The Black Keys spent five years apart before reconnecting for their new album Let’s Rock, and during that time, rumors grew about possible friction between Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney (“Did the Black Keys split?” is one of the first Google questions that comes up if you search for the band.)
The duo poke fun at any possible animosity in the the video for their new song “Go,” directed by Bryan Schlam (who has made videos for Auerbach, James Bay and more.) Auerbach and Carney, refusing to speak with one another, meet with a therapist before heading to a spiritual retreat, where they work things out, with help from hallucinogens. “It was great making this video with Bryan, particularly because it was filmed at the very type of place it is making fun of,” Carney adds, referring to the spiritual retreat. Auerbach jokes, “The video was fun, but we still haven’t spoken.”
Let’s Rock is out June 28th and is a return to the sound the band became known for: “[It] packs considerably more visceral punch than their last one (2014’s atmospheric, Danger Mouse-helmed Turn Blue) — from the AC/DC chords of album opener ‘Shine a Little Light’ to the Blue Öyster Cult-meets-ZZ Top punch of ‘Eagle Birds’ to the riff-y power pop of ‘Get Yourself Together.’ Rolling Stone’s Brian Hiatt wrote in a piece where the band discussed their return. “There are zero keyboards on the album, and Auerbach played most of the guitar solos live; he’d simply stop playing rhythm and kick into lead.”
“We fell right back into it, really, day one,” Carney said. “We wrote two songs the first day. We’re just fucking around, and that’s what comes out.” The band is touring heavily behind the album.
