The alt-country pioneers will drop their latest album American Primitive on April 5
Rhett Miller bums a ride in the back of a pickup and receives the signs of his past and future in the video for “Where the Road Goes,” the Old 97’s’ new song that celebrates the band’s more than 30 years of longevity.
While Miller sings about various highs and lows of life and career (“from the bottom of a bottle to the palazzo/who knows where the road goes”), he sees the number 97 everywhere — on a highway sign, above a gas station — and also a ramshackle marquee announcing American Primitive, the band’s new album arriving April 5.
The LP is the 13th studio album by the band and its longtime original lineup of Miller, bassist Murry Hammond, guitarist Ken Bethea, and drummer Philip Peeples. Produced by Tucker Martine, it drops 30 years since the group’s debut album Hitchhike to Rhome features cover art designed by Hammond’s son Tex.
And if “Where the Road Goes” sounds particularly jangly, there’s good reason: R.E.M.’s Peter Buck plays guitar on the recording. Old 97’s will support the album with a tour kicking off in Santa Fe in April.
American Primitive tracklist:
1. “Falling Down”
2. “Somebody”
3. “American Primitive”
4. “Where the Road Goes”
5. “Honeypie”
6. “By the End of the Night”
7. “Masterpiece”
8. “Incantation”
9. “Magic”|
10. “Western Stars”
11. “Chased the Setting Sun”
12. “This World”
13. “Estuviera Cayendo”
