Dan Auerbach Preps New Album, Unveils Plucky Rocker ‘Shine On Me’
The Black Keys‘ Dan Auerbach will release his second solo album, Waiting On a Song, June 2nd via his new label Easy Eye Sound. The musician also shared a goofy animated video for the album’s first offering, “Shine On Me,” which features guitar work from Mark Knopfler.
The vibrant clip finds Auerbach participating in a demolition derby against a bunch of animals and ultimately taking first prize. The win propels the rocker to fame, fortune and a guest spot on the “The Midnight Show” where he reunites with his derby competitors – an alien, a frog and a dog – to perform the plucky, uptempo “Shine On Me.”
Waiting On a Song follows Auerbach’s 2009 solo debut, Keep It Hid and is described as a “love letter to Nashville.” Auerbach moved to the city from his native Akron, Ohio in 2010 and eventually opened his own studio, Easy Eye. Fittingly, Waiting On a Song was made with several prominent Nashville musicians including John Prine, Duane Eddy, Jerry Douglas, Pat McLaughlin and the Memphis Boys’ Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman.
“They’d come over, and we’d be in a little room in my house with the door closed, and we’d just write,” Auerbach said of the album’s collaborative process, “Monday through Wednesday we’d write, and then Thursday through Sunday we’d record, every week.”
Auerbach also plans to expand the roster of Easy Eye Sound following the release of Waiting On a Song. Releases from the new label will be distributed via Nonesuch Records.
In 2015 Auerbach and his band the Arcs released their debut album Yours, Dreamily, while the musician has also continued working as a producer. Most recently he helmed the Pretenders’ 2016 album Alone and has worked on projects with Cage the Elephant, Valerie June and Lana Del Rey.
As for the Black Keys, the duo announced a temporary hiatus after another extensive tour in support of their 2014 album Turn Blue. In an interview with Rolling Stone, drummer Patrick Carney said, “I love making music with Dan and I’m excited for when we do that next, and we will do it. But both of us have PTSD from being on the road constantly.”
Dan Auerbach – Waiting On a Song Track List
1. “Waiting On A Song”
2. “Malibu Man”
3. “Livin’ In Sin”
4. “Shine On Me”
5. “King Of A One Horse Town”
6. “Never In My Wildest Dreams”
7. “Cherrybomb”
8. “Stand By My Girl”
9. “Undertow”
10. “Show Me”