The Jayhawks news

Minneapolis band The Jayhawks have announced their new album XOXO is set for July 10 via Sham/Thirty Tigers. It features songwriting and lead vocal contributions from all four longtime band members – Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg and Tim O’Reagan. Along with the announcement, The Jayhawks have released a new video with Louris performing a stripped-down version of “Living In A Bubble”.

Watch Gary Louris Perform “Living In A Bubble” via Youtube:

https://youtu.be/yJHQU02uBoM

“‘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 let’s it,” says Louris. “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.”

XOXO was recorded over two weeks at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN, as well as at Flowers Studio.

“It was time to open things up,” explains Louris. “The Jayhawks are a true band, one where every-one’s an equal, and we wanted to make a record that really reflected that.” Elaborating on the process, Perlman says, “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.”

The alt-country vets' most recent releases, 2016’s Paging Mr. Proust and 2018’s Back Roads and Abandoned Motels, garnered critical acclaim.

Track Listing:

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