The Black Keys, O2 Arena

O2 Arena March 2015 will see a performance by garage rockers the Black Keys. Danger Mouse-new album Turn Blue's producer-has added new depths to their sound

Foot-stomping blues rock revivalists The Black Keys are due to play the O2 Arena in March 2015 as part of their world tour in support of new album Turn Blue.

The band, comprising guitarist Dan Auerbach- fresh from producing Lana Del Rey’s new album Ultraviolence- and drummer Patrick Carney, have made the transition to genuine rock royalty in the last few years.

One of the Biggest Rock Bands in the World 2014

Formed in 2001 by boyhood friends Auerbach and Carney, the Ohioan duo started life as a no-frills garage rock band, championing a throwback electric blues: smokey dive-bars, bourbon and beermats; guitar riffs like the scream of a braking steam train and primal drum beats.  

The albums Brothers (2010) and El Camino (2011) cemented their reputation as one of the biggest bands in the world; praised by critics, both albums were certified platinum in the US.

Danger Mouse: Black Keys' Turn Blue producer

But since their 2008 album Attack & Release, Auerbach and Carney have been collaborating with ubiquitous US super-producer Danger Mouse, whose slick sonic auteurism has shaped the work of Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkley, among others. Danger Mouse’s influence led to a shift away from their trademark, back-to-basic blues snarl and has helped craft their most diverse and mature record so far. With the producer now acting as a de facto third Key, his shimmering touch is evident on both the songwriting and the production.

With lyrics confronting Auerbach’s feelings surrounding his recent divorce, the album finds the Keys with a newfound emotional gravity; a strain of melancholy seeps through the record in lines like “Looking back on where we used to be/Everything was clear, still I refuse to see/Hearts began to burst”, from Bullet to the Brain .

O2 Arena: Black Keys Concert March 2015

Once upon a time, the Black Keys only needed vocals, bleary guitar and drums to make a statement; Turn Blue weaves serpentine lines of overdubbed guitars, multi tracked vocals and crystalline bass lines over crisp drums. The glossy keyboards and synths slithering through the album practically chime Danger Mouse; it's a far cry from the low-fidelity garage recordings that made them.

But whether The Black Keys are drilling their classic blues rock anthems or noodling through the new album’s dreamy cuts, they have the performance nous and the songs to fill the O2 next year.