''Delta Kream'' is the tenth studio album by American rock duo

the Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...

, released through Easy Eye Sound and

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

on May 14, 2021. It is a

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

hill country blues Hill country blues (also known as North Mississippi hill country blues or North Mississippi blues) is a regional style of country blues. It is characterized by a strong emphasis on rhythm and percussion, steady guitar riffs, few chord changes, ...

songs. It was preceded by the April 15 release of a cover of " Crawling Kingsnake", based on

Junior Kimbrough David "Junior" Kimbrough (July 28, 1930 – January 17, 1998) was an American blues musician. His best-known works are "Keep Your Hands off Her" and "All Night Long". In 2023, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Kimbrough was b ...

's rendition.

Background, recording and packaging

The album was recorded "in about 10 hours" over two afternoons at

Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

's Easy Eye Sound studio in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

at the end of the ''

Let's Rock ''Let's Rock'' (known as ''Keep It Cool'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1958 rock and roll film starring Julius LaRosa as a crooner attempting to fight off the rival music rock and roll, Phyllis Newman as his songwriting girlfriend who convinces ...

'' tour, with little planning and no advance rehearsals. It includes contributions from

R. L. Burnside R. L. Burnside (November 23, 1926 – September 1, 2005) was an American Hill country blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He played music for most of his life but received little recognition until 1995 when Burnside recorded and toured with ...

's guitarist Kenny Brown as well as

's bassist Eric Deaton; the Black Keys had previously covered Burnside's "Skinny Woman" (titled "Busted") and Kimbrough's "Do the Romp" (titled "Do the Rump") on their 2002 debut album ''

The Big Come Up ''The Big Come Up'' is the debut studio album by the American rock duo the Black Keys, released on May 14, 2002, on Alive Records. Background and recording The album was created in Akron, Ohio, also known as the Rubber City. As band members Da ...

'', and released the Kimbrough

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

'' Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough'' in 2006. Brown and Deaton had been recording at Easy Eye Sound studio concurrently along with Auerbach for the album '' Sharecropper's Son'' by

Robert Finley Robert Finley (1772 – November 3, 1817) was an American Presbyterian clergyman and educator who is known as one of the founders of the American Colonization Society, which established the colony of Liberia in West Africa as a place for free A ...

, which lead to their availability for the ''Delta Kream'' sessions. In a statement, Auerbach said: "We made this record to honor the Mississippi hill country blues tradition that influenced us starting out. These songs are still as important to us today as they were the first day Pat and I started playing together and picked up our instruments." The album cover features a 1970s photograph by

William Eggleston William Eggleston, (born July 27, 1939) is an American photographer. He is widely credited with increasing recognition of color photography as a legitimate artistic medium. Eggleston's books include ''William Eggleston's Guide'' (1976) and ''The ...

of the Delta Kream shop in

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the U ...

, with an

Oldsmobile Cutlass The Oldsmobile Cutlass was a series of automobiles produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile division between 1961 and 1999. At its introduction, the Cutlass was Oldsmobile's entry-level model; it began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest ...

parked outside – the shop no longer exists.

Promotion and release

The Black Keys announced ''Delta Kream'' on April 13, 2021, exclusively through their Lonely Boys and Girls fan club. Through the fan club, on the same day, they also released the album's lead single, a cover of

's version of " Crawling Kingsnake". It was released to digital music platforms two days later. Additionally, a music video for the song was released. Directed by Tim Hardiman, it features a performance of the song by the band at the

Blue Front Cafe The Blue Front Café is a historic old juke joint made of cinder block in Bentonia, Mississippi on Highway 49, approximately 30 miles northwest of Jackson, which played an important role in the development of the blues in Mississippi. The café ...

, owned by blues musician

Jimmy "Duck" Holmes Jimmy "Duck" Holmes (born July 28, 1947) is an American blues musician and proprietor of the Blue Front Cafe on the Mississippi Blues Trail, the oldest surviving juke joint in Mississippi. Holmes is known as the last of the Bentonia bluesmen, ...

. ''Delta Kream'' was released on May 14, 2021, through Easy Eye Sound and

on digital music platforms and physical media. The album's digital release includes a shortened edit of "Crawling Kingsnake" as a bonus track. Physically, the album was made available to purchase as both a CD and double 12-inch vinyl record, with standard black, limited edition "purple haze", and

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

user-exclusive pink options available for the vinyl release.

Track listing

Personnel

The Black Keys *

– lead vocals, electric guitar,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Patrick Carney Patrick James Carney (born April 15, 1980) is an American musician and producer best known as the drummer of the Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. Early life Carney stated in an interview with '' Modern Drummer'' that he never t ...

– drums, percussion, production Additional personnel * Eric Deaton – bass * Kenny Brown – electric guitar * Sam Bacco – additional percussion * Ryan Smith – mastering *

Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with artists and musicians including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arctic Monke ...

– mixing * M. Allen Parker –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Caleb VanBuskirk – additional engineering * Michael Deano – engineering assistance * Mickey Smay – engineering assistance

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{The Black Keys 2021 albums Albums produced by Dan Auerbach Albums produced by Patrick Carney 2020s covers albums The Black Keys albums Nonesuch Records albums Easy Eye Sound (record label) albums Albums recorded at Easy Eye Sound (studio)