Dan Auerbach, who is known as the frontman for the Akron, Ohio-born rock band The Black Keys, is bringing back his side project, The Arcs, for the first time since the band’s 2015 LP.
The group returned with its first new song, “Keep on Dreamin,’” since the album released some seven years ago. And it comes ahead of the Jan. 27 release of a full-length album, Electrophonic Chronic, which features late band member Richard Swift, who passed away in 2018.
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“This new record is all about honoring Swift,” says Auerbach of the work. “It’s a way for us to say goodbye to him, by revisiting him playing and laughing, singing. It was heavy at times, but I think it was really helpful to do it.”
The forthcoming LP is co-produced by Auerbach and the group’s Leon Michels. It also offers contributions from Nick Movshon and Homer Steinweiss. The album was recorded in Nashville and New York City and it was inspired by the making of the band’s 2015 debut, Yours, Dreamily.
“There are probably between 80 and 100 tracks that we laid down because we just constantly recorded after we put out Yours, Dreamily,” says Michels. “It was so much fun to be in the studio once again, so we were just making music all the time. I think there was always a plan to make a follow-up record.”
Adds Auerbach, “It’s rare that you meet a group of people that you click with like that, who you instantly bond with. We were just having fun, making sounds, making music. It was an amazing time for me.”
The new album will be available in seven vinyl versions. A limited-edition CD version will be available via independent retailers, as well.
Check out the new single, “Keep On Dreamin,’” released earlier this week along with the tracklist below.
The Arcs’ Electrophonic Chronic tracklisting:
Keep On Dreamin’
Eyez
Heaven Is A Place
Califone Interlude
River
Sunshine
A Man Will Do Wrong
Behind The Eyes
Backstage Mess
Sporting Girls Interlude
Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Only One For Me
(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)