Twelfth

Description

Old 97s return with Twelfth, their aptly titled 12th studio album, recorded this spring in Nashville, Tennessee, between a tornado and a pandemic.

We experienced some close calls over the last few years, says frontman Rhett Miller, and I think that led us to this dawning realization of the fragility of it all. At the same time, it also led us to this increased gratitude for the music and the brotherhood weve been so lucky to share. I think all of that combined to make recording this album one of the most intensely joyful experiences weve ever had as a band.

That joy is utterly palpable on Twelfth. Loose and raw, the record is an ecstatic celebration of survival, a resounding ode to endurance and resilience from a veteran group that refuses to rest on their considerable laurels. Working out of Sputnik Sound in Nashville, Miller and his longtime bandmates bassist Murry Hammond, guitarist Ken Bethea and drummer Philip Peeples teamed up once again with GRAMMY-winning producer Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White) and, while the resulting album boasts all the hallmarks of a classic Old 97s record (sex and booze, laughter and tears, poetry and blasphemy), it also showcases a newfound perspective in its writing and craftsmanship, a maturity and appreciation that can only come with age and experience. Perhaps the band are growing up; maybe theyre just getting started. Either way, Old 97s have never been happier to be alive.

2016s Graveyard Whistling took the 97s to new heights lead by the single Good With God, a bona-fide hit at non-commercial radio. Twelfths lead track Turn Off The TV might be the unintentional anthem of 2020, celebrating the occasional and necessary need to turn off the TV set and tune out the outside world.

Terse, wry, and supremely catchy roots-rock. The Atlantic

A well-loved pioneering force in the alt-country movement [theyve] still got the same raucous, sweaty energy thats made [them] so beloved all this time. NPR

Blistered, blasted, and brilliant. New Yorker

Silver coloured vinyl in custom inner sleeve with lyrics and digital download card offered to independent retailers.