The Black Keys

A duo powered equally by raw blues and psychedelic garage rock, the Black Keys became one of the more unlikely, refreshing commercial successes of the 2010s. Singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney were high-school friends in Akron, Ohio and both had impressive musical family connections met at (Auerbach is the cousin of guitarist Robert Quine, known for a long stint with Lou Reed; Carney's uncle Ralph Carney played sax with Tom Waits and others). After a few no-glory local gigs they released their deliberately low-fi debut, The Big Come Up in 2002. Recorded on eight-track in Carney's basement, the album drew comparisons to raw Mississippi bluesmen like Junior Kimbrough (whose "Do the Rump" was covered) as well as the then-popular White Stripes. They were signed to Fat Possum, home of Kimbrough and other juke-joint blesmen, for the followup Thickfreakness-- which despite its fuller sound, was recorded in a single day. The duo honored its roots by recording a full EP of Kimbrough songs in 2006, but their own music was growing more eclectic. Their breakthrough was the 2008 album Attack and Release, which employed the experimentally-minded Danger Mouse as producer (Danger Mouse had originally worked with the White Stripes on an unreleased project for rock pioneer Ike Turner, who died during the sessions). While still based in blues, the album sported many new sounds for the band, from acoustic guitars and harmonies to spacey, synthesized soundscapes. It was a critical and commercial success, hitting the Top 20. Having moved to Nashville, the duo recorded the next album, 2010's Brothers at Alabama's legendary Muscle Shoals studio. Abandoning the spacey feel of the previous album, Brothers sported a more upbeat soul-influenced sound (They even covered a Jerry Butler hit, "Never Gonna Give You Up"), also nodding toward Led Zeppelin and other classic rock. The diversity continued on 2011's El Camino, which reinstated Danger Mouse as producer and co-writer and expanded the influence of '70s rock. The Black Keys were now popular enough to headline Madison Square Garden at the end of 2012. Around this time Auerbach went into the studio with New Orleans music legend Dr. John and produced Locked Down, which revived the voodoo ambiance of the Dr's earliest albums. Working once again with Danger Mouse, the Black Keys returned in 2014 with Turn Blue, which added strong elements of psychedelia , piano balladry and even disco, all without removing their blues roots from the mix.