Hear Dan Auerbach-Fronted the Arcs’ Psychedelic New Track
Black Keys singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach goes psychedelic on “Outta My Mind,” a new track from his debut album with the Arcs. “Somebody help me now,” the frontman sings over spacey riffs and a loopy drum pattern reminiscent of Beck’s “The New Pollution,” sneaking in a bluesy guitar solo at the climax. The song will be released on a 7-inch single – backed with non-LP track “My Mind” – on July 10th.
The Arcs’ debut full-length, Yours, Dreamily, is out September 4th via Nonesuch Records. Pre-orders, which offer downloads of “Outta My Mind” and “Stay in My Corner,” are available now via iTunes, Nonesuch and the band’s official website. Last month, the band released two boxing-related songs, “Stay in My Corner” and “Tomato Can,” on 7-inch vinyl, in celebration of the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao fight.
Yours, Dreamily isn’t Auerbach’s first project outside the Black Keys – he’s produced albums for artists like Lana Del Rey and Dr. John, and he released a solo album, Keep It Hid, in 2009. But the Arcs –which features Leon Michels, Richard Swift, Homer Steinweiss and Nick Movshon, along with guests Kenny Vaughan and Mariachi Flor de Toloache – is a legitimate, collaborative band. “These guys have equal input on all the songs,” Auerbach told Rolling Stone.
“It’s a completely different thing than the Black Keys, where I write the lyrics, the chords and most of the melodies,” he added. “Every song on this record is co-written with the whole band. That’s why I didn’t call it my name. I love being able to sit back and let songs evolve without me. It’s been a new experience.”
The 13-track LP – co-produced by Auerbach and Michels, mixed by Tchad Blake – was recorded in roughly two weeks at sessions across Los Angeles, New York and Auerbach’s Nashville studio, Easy Eye Sound. Many of the band members played on albums Auerbach produced in recent years, resulting in a massive backlog of songs they recorded in their free time. “When we get together, our output is kind of crazy,” Auerbach told Rolling Stone. “We have 75 songs. We had to keep telling ourselves to stop writing new songs so we could finish old ones.”