“…rock of this caliber is really timeless.”—Rolling Stone

The Black Keys’ fifth full-length LP, Attack & Release, was released earlier this month by Nonesuch Records and debuted on the Billboard album chart at #14 marking the band’s highest position to date. The album has also received critical acclaim: The Los Angeles Times proclaimed “…without doubt the Keys’ most dynamic effort yet” and Pitchfork stated it’s the “…most adventurous album to date.”

Produced by Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, The Grey Album), Attack & Release was recorded at engineer Paul Hamann’s Suma Studio outside Cleveland, Ohio. Initial collaboration began when Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton) approached the band to write songs for an album he was developing with the late R&B legend Ike Turner. As the band began composing tracks for Turner early last year, though, they quickly realized they were actually laying the groundwork for a new album of their own.

Attack & Release thus became The Black Keys’ first collaborative effort, as it morphed into their own album with Danger Mouse as producer. By recording in an actual studio (another first), guitarist-vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney were given the opportunity to add a variety of instruments to their usual simple set-up—including organ, moog, and banjo.

Besides Auerbach, Carney, and Danger Mouse’s work, other contributions on Attack & Release include guitarist Marc Ribot and multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney (Patrick’s uncle)—both veterans of, among other things, Tom Waits’ band. The closing track, “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be,” features Auerbach singing along side eighteen-year-old bluegrass/country-singer Jessica Lea Mayfield.

Recently The Black Keys participated in the Coalition of Independent Record Stores’ Record Store Day releasing a seven-inch record that includes the songs “Strange Times” and a previously unreleased cover of  Karen Dalton’s “Something on Your Mind.” The band also guest DJed at Other Music in New York City.

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Mary Moyer, Zach Hinkle or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.