BLACK DIAMOND HEAVIES, BUFFALO KILLERS, HACIENDA : new albums coming soon

• Click here for song picks from upcoming Black Keys collaborations in a special Smoking Section Exclusive

If you worship the Black Keys as much as we do — and you agree that Attack & Release is the best album of ‘08 so far — you should be stoked to know that drummer Patrick Carney and singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach have put their fingerprints on a slew of upcoming albums. Carney is producing fellow Akronites Houseguest, Knoxville’s Royal Bangs (”they’re kind of the shit”) and another Ohio band called Beaten Awake. “Those guys are, like, 33, but they live like they’re still 18,” says Carney, “which is acceptable as long as you don’t have a kid.” Meanwhile, Auerbach is readying records by Buffalo Killers (rockers from Cincinnati), Hacienda (”Mexican-Americans who are obsessed with the Beach Boys”), the low-fi Southern duo Black Diamond Heavies and youngster Jessica Lea Mayfield (”superdark and gloomy — what I like”). In summary, Carney says, “We’re just puttin’ out records, flushing money down the toilet. Unless these bands agree to wear the neon-green outfits I pick out for them, they’ll never be popular.” - Rolling Stone