The Black Keys are nothing if not a couple of hard-driven, blues-slinging, sync-snatching, fest-crushing maniacs, so it should come as no surprise that despite having a huge year in their rearview — in which they saw El Camino go platinum — plus five Grammy nominations down the road, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are blazing onward. Nonesuch Records has just announced that the duo will be playing a series of special shows in April and May with special guests the Flaming Lips. (Mayhaps they can help Wayne Coyne get his cool back?)

Better yet, the Keys are headed back into the studio this week to work on a new album, the NME reports. They get their intel from a print piece by Uncut, in which Auerbach explained, “We’re going to start making the new album in the second week of January and we’re hoping to have it done by some time in March … The record isn’t written yet, we’ll do it when we get into the studio. This is when we both work best, when we’re dying to make an album. All of our records take place in the studio, in that we make stuff up while we’re there.”

The singer/axe-man also added, “Then we have a couple of weeks of touring, then we’re going to take the summer off, which we haven’t done for a while.” So it seems a little respite might actually be on the horizon. Of course, if those Grammys come through, it may be a different story. El Camino and its single “Lonely Boy” have racked up nods for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album. Their 2010 set Brothers won three Grammys with help from its frontrunner, “Tighten Up,” and also scored platinum status.

Auerbach initially teased the idea of a 2013 album in October via an interview with CBS Local in which he detailed their hopes to have Danger Mouse produce. They’ve been working together since 2008’s Attack and Release, which is about the time the Black Keys got their second wind, leading to a nonstop slew of crunchy, unstoppable blues-rock anthems and their music soundtracking, like, 90 percent of all commercials ever.

The Black Keys and the Flaming Lips 2013 tour dates:

April 28 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center

April 30 – Pittsburgh, PA @ CONSOL Energy Center

May 2 – Atlanta, GA @ Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood

May 3 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena