Entertainment

The New Black Keys' Song Will Give You a 'Fever'

by Alicia Lutes

Hard to believe we've gone three years without a new song from The Black Keys, isn't it? When a band is as good (and talented!) as Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are, though, their songs never begin to feel stale or overplayed — like most of the songs off their latest record, 2011's El Camino. Thankfully, staving off the dry spell that didn't feel much like one, is "Fever," the first track from The Black Keys since the aforementioned LP. We've waited 3 days and now it's here.

Funky, tambourine-driven and bass-heavy, "Fever" is a bit more synthed-up than their last album but still feels decidedly Keysian in its approach — Which is to say aggressive out the gate with a simplistic, catchy-as-hell efficiency. After releasing the name of the new album — Turn Blue — via a...tweet from Mike Tyson (seriously) containing one of the more bizarre and unsettling videos we've seen on the Internet in recent weeks (no hyperbole). Seriously. (We're not going to link to the tweet here just because we're afraid it'll maybe/possibly put you off the actual song, which is really quite good. But if you want to see the weird and windy way in which this whole new endeavor was unveiled to the earth, go ahead and click here. Don't blame us when you find that you're wildly uncomfortable and unable to look away from the plasticine face cackling in front of you.)

I suppose when you're putting out your eighth studio album ever — certainly nothing to snuff at — things can get a little loopy. And it's a big change of pace from Auerbach's work on the new Ray LaMontagne. Whatever the case may be, "Fever" certainly has a longing and forward momentum to it that's sure to make it an early springtime hit. We're all stir-crazy and outta whack thanks to the neverending winter. Seems as good a time as any to get hit with a bit of the good stuff, eh?