Auerbach releases Keep it Hid, a fourteen-track affair, on February 10th through Nonesuch Records. In support of his solo project, Auerbach already has an eleven-date tour pencilled in to coincide with the album's release. His support band of choice for the tour will be Texan band Hacienda, who will also open for Auerbach.

With the solo songs collected during his time with the Black Keys, Auerbach explained to Billboard how they came about. "It's all over the map. I write songs for the Black Keys, so some of them sound like they could be Black Keys songs. But some songs are just acoustic guitar. There's some real dark tunes and some psychedelic rumbas. It's all that stuff I grew up playing - all those bluegrass harmonies. I experimented a little bit with instrumentation."

Keep It Hid was recorded at the singer's own studio in Akron, Ohio, and leaned on his family to help him bring the songs to life. His dad Chuck wrote the song Whispered Words, whilst uncle, James Quine, sings and plays electric guitar on Street Walkin'.

In anticipation of his solo shows, Auerbach was keen to stress that they would be very different from those enjoyed with his other band, explaining that solo would be "a totally separate thing from the Black Keys, so there will definitely no Black Keys songs. You'll hear anything I feel like playing."

On the Black Keys front, the duo have finished a writing session with Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top and producer Rick Rubin. The band also release their Lance Bangs-directed concert DVD, Live at Crystal Ballroom, on 18th November.

Dan Auerbach's solo tour dates:

February

28 - Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club

March

01 - Boston - Paradise
02 - Brooklyn, N.Y. - Music Hall of Williamsburg
03 - New York - Bowery Ballroom
05 - Cleveland - Beachland Ballroom
06 - Chicago - Metro
07 - Minneapolis - First Avenue
10 - Seattle - Showbox
11 - Portland, Ore. - Wonder Ballroom
13 - San Francisco - Bimbo's
14 - Los Angeles - El Rey Theatre

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