It’s hard to believe, but alt-country pioneers Old 97’s have been at it for over 30 years. They’ve just announced their upcoming 13th album, American Primitive, will be released April 5 on ATO Records.
The new album was produced by Tucker Martine who has previously worked with My Morning Jacket, The Decemberists, and Neko Case. Frontman Rhett Miller commented, “This was the first record we’ve ever done with zero pre-production. It’s us working completely on instinct, leaning on 30 years of playing together to come up with something on the fly rather than overthinking any of our choices.”
The first single from the album is “Where the Road Goes,” and Miller shared how it came together:
“I was in Montana and found myself on the banks of the Blackfoot River, watching the water pounding with a ferocious power, and I started building this song as a statement of gratitude for having survived this long. It revisits some of the darkest moments of my life, including a suicide attempt at age 14 that by all rights I shouldn’t have lived through and yet somehow did. In a way it’s like a spiritual travelogue that rolls back through all the places that shaped me for better or worse, and ends up in this beautiful place that I felt so thankful to experience.”
And if the new song sounds particularly jangly, there’s good reason: R.E.M.’s Peter Buck adds his guitar work to the track.
Check out the video below:
Song of the Day spotlights a song we love - weekdays at 11:10.
