Having explored Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018, the Jayhawks have now shared details of a follow-up LP. The Minneapolis alt-country outfit will release new album XOXO on July 10 via Sham/Thirty Tigers.
Twelve tracks in length, XOXO is said to be an album "fuelled by chemistry and trust" that features the band's "most diverse and wide-ranging group of songs to date." That chemistry and trust appears to have been born out of a writing a recording process that features all four longtime band members.
While frontman Gary Louris has long been known as the Jayhawks' principal songwriter, contributions to both vocals and lyrics on the new effort have also come from Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg and Tim O'Reagan.
"It was time to open things up," Louris said in a statement. "The Jayhawks are a true band, one where everyone's an equal, and we wanted to make a record that really reflected that."
Bassist Perlman added, "Some songs we molded together from scratch, but others had been fully written by one or the other of us. We didn't worry too much about who penned what, because after all these years of playing together, everything we do just naturally comes out sounding like a Jayhawks song."
Alongside the announcement, the Jayhawks have shared album track, "Living in a Bubble," which you can watch Louris perform in a video below.
"'Living in a Bubble' lyrically is a reaction to the 24-hour news cycle and how the media can fan the flames of fear if one lets it," Louris said of the song. "It is also a commentary about data collection, Big Brother, and our obsession with devices, while never being truly present in the here and now. Musically it is an homage to the great Harry Nilsson, and is driven by the amazing piano playing of Karen Grotberg."
Before the release of Back Roads and Abandoned Motels, the Jayhawks backed Ray Davies of the Kinks on solo album Americana in 2017.
XOXO:
1. This Forgotten Town
2. Dog town Days
3. Living In A Bubble
4. Ruby
5. Homecoming
6. Society Pages
7. Illuminate
8. Bitter Pill
9. Across My Field
10. Little Victories
11. Down To The Farm
12. Looking Up Your Number
Twelve tracks in length, XOXO is said to be an album "fuelled by chemistry and trust" that features the band's "most diverse and wide-ranging group of songs to date." That chemistry and trust appears to have been born out of a writing a recording process that features all four longtime band members.
While frontman Gary Louris has long been known as the Jayhawks' principal songwriter, contributions to both vocals and lyrics on the new effort have also come from Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg and Tim O'Reagan.
"It was time to open things up," Louris said in a statement. "The Jayhawks are a true band, one where everyone's an equal, and we wanted to make a record that really reflected that."
Bassist Perlman added, "Some songs we molded together from scratch, but others had been fully written by one or the other of us. We didn't worry too much about who penned what, because after all these years of playing together, everything we do just naturally comes out sounding like a Jayhawks song."
Alongside the announcement, the Jayhawks have shared album track, "Living in a Bubble," which you can watch Louris perform in a video below.
"'Living in a Bubble' lyrically is a reaction to the 24-hour news cycle and how the media can fan the flames of fear if one lets it," Louris said of the song. "It is also a commentary about data collection, Big Brother, and our obsession with devices, while never being truly present in the here and now. Musically it is an homage to the great Harry Nilsson, and is driven by the amazing piano playing of Karen Grotberg."
Before the release of Back Roads and Abandoned Motels, the Jayhawks backed Ray Davies of the Kinks on solo album Americana in 2017.
XOXO:
1. This Forgotten Town
2. Dog town Days
3. Living In A Bubble
4. Ruby
5. Homecoming
6. Society Pages
7. Illuminate
8. Bitter Pill
9. Across My Field
10. Little Victories
11. Down To The Farm
12. Looking Up Your Number