The Velveteers’ ‘A Million Knives’ Kicks Off with Black Keys Collab

The Velveteers are opening the marketing campaign for his or her sophomore album, A Million Knives, on a little bit of a historic observe.

The just-released first single, “Go Fly Away,” is a collaboration with the Black Keys — and, actually, marks the primary time Dan Auerbach, who signed the Denver trio to his Simple Eye Sound label and produces the group, and Patrick Carney have produced one thing collectively for one more act. “Pat’s performed drums on some data I (produced) and stuff,” Auerbach tells Billboard. “With the Velveteers he was very hands-on, and it was all of us working within the studio.”

Velveteers frontwoman Demi Demitro says Carney was a periodic customer to the A Million Knives classes, which came about final December at Auerbach’s Simple Eye studio in Nashville. “We didn’t comprehend it was that first time, nevertheless it was actually cool to work with each Dan and Patrick,” Demitro says. Carney, actually, began the songwriting course of off with the opening keyboard line, which Auerbach says got here from a music pattern library. “We simply type of labored off it from there,” Demitro remembers. “Patrick’s drumming on the music, each of the drummers in my band (Child Pottersmith and Jonny Fig) are taking part in, then I added this heavy guitar for the after-chorus. After we sat with the music for a bit of bit we added some overdubs, simply to type of put the little glowing touches to it.”

Auerbach says the concept of a Velveteers-Black Keys mixture was natural — and maybe inevitable. “We’d carried out some touring collectively and all of us are associates,” he says, “and I feel Pat was excited to get within the studio, too, and work on a music with them. That was a very cool expertise.”

“Go Fly Away,” nonetheless, is the one music constructed like that for A Million Knives. The remainder of the 13-song set — due out Feb. 14 — comes from a prolific spate for the trio, whereas and after touring to assist its 2021 debut Nightmare Daydream, which included stadium dates opening for Weapons N’ Roses and Smashing Pumpkins.

“We have been on tour for what appeared like two years straight,” Demitro says, “so each likelihood we’d get once we have been at dwelling we have been writing. We in all probability had 30 songs that have been written. We had a couple of month earlier than we have been going into the studio, so we simply narrowed them right down to those that felt like they have been coming in finest.” Auerbach provides that “you simply need to go together with your intestine” within the choice course of. “I attempted to assist them, however they’ve very sturdy opinions about what they do and the way they need it represented. I’m solely there to make suggestions. That they had all these great songs with large, large hooks they usually have been feeling very formidable and assured. That actually simply made it enjoyable.”

A lot of A Million Knives is, as Auerbach describes, aggressive and heavy, whereas “Go Fly Away” marks a transition into 4 extra measured and melodic songs — a type of calm after the storm.

“You would say that,” acknowledges Demitro, including that the songs principally take care of “the totally different types of heartbreak, in loads of alternative ways…It was positively a purposeful determination for the sequence; it felt like all these (later) songs — like ‘Heaven,’ ‘Go Fly Away,’ ‘Up Right here’ — it felt like these songs have been meant to be subsequent to one another. When you get to that a part of the album it felt like this large, emotional launch.”

Along with Auerbach and Carney, A Million Knives consists of different company, significantly on guitar, together with common Simple Eye cohort Tom Bukovac, Cage the Elephant’s Nick Bockrath, and the Reigning Sound’s Greg Cartwright. “It was simply my expertise and my intestine and what I believed would possibly assist the music or a scenario,” Auerbach explains. “We don’t at all times use the stuff we attempt, however you’ve received to throw issues on the wall and see what sticks.”

Demitro says she “felt much less assured” in making a second album, explaining that “as soon as folks begin listening to your music and you’ve got an viewers, you might have the tendency to second-guess your self a bit of extra.” Nonetheless, she considers A Million Knives to be “much more sincere than its predecessor,” which is one thing she was wanting to perform, “simply being a bit of extra susceptible with how I really felt. I feel on our final album there are loads of metaphors, and on this album I needed to say issues extra as they’re, which I feel I did.”

The Velveteers are at present on the highway with headlining dates by way of Oct. 25, with plans for “much more touring” throughout 2025, in accordance with Demitro. Within the meantime, the trio will probably be engaged on organising A Million Knives for launch, together with extra singles and, Demitro guarantees, “loads of visible artwork items coming. I feel we’re actually excited to share every part we’ve been engaged on.”