Ok cool. So the best way to do this is that I have found is to use the vertical spit view (selected using the icon to the left of the settings gear icon, in the upper right of the gmail window).
This allows you to use the keyboard ('j'/'k') to navigate through the list of emails, and just hit 'e' on the ones you want to archive. Downside is, the content of the email still loads in the preview pane.
If you don't want emails to automatically be marked as "read" when you select them, you can go to the settings gear, "Inbox" tab, and change the length of time a message is displayed in the preview pane before being marked read to "never".
This allows you to use the keyboard ('j'/'k') to navigate through the list of emails, and just hit 'e' on the ones you want to archive. Downside is, the content of the email still loads in the preview pane.
If you don't want emails to automatically be marked as "read" when you select them, you can go to the settings gear, "Inbox" tab, and change the length of time a message is displayed in the preview pane before being marked read to "never".