The Black Keys have released their twelfth studio album, Ohio Players.

The record features collaborations with Beck, Noel Gallagher, and Dan the Automator.

Speaking on the collaborative nature of the album, drummer Patrick Carney shared, “We had this epiphany: ‘We can call our friends to help us make music.’ It’s funny because we both write songs with other people – Dan all the time [as a solo artist and producer], me when I’m producing a record. That’s what we do.”

Frontman Dan Auerbach added, “No matter who we work with, it never feels like we’re sacrificing who we are. It only feels like it adds some special flavor. We just expanded that palette with people we wanted to work with. We were there to support them and their ideas, to do whatever we could to see that moment flourish. But when it came time to finish the album, it was just Pat and me.”

“We’d never worked harder to make a record,” he continued. It’s never taken us this long to make an album. We took our time and did it right.”

“What we wanted to accomplish with this record was make something that was fun,” Carney said. “And something that most bands 20 years into their career don’t make, which is an approachable, fun record that is also cool.”