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Thursday, August 3, 2023

Semisonic news

photo: Darin Kamnetz
Grammy-nominated trio Semisonic announced Little Bit Of Sun, their first full length album in more than 20 years that will be released on November 3. It was recorded in the band’s native Minneapolis and features appearances from Jason Isbell and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.

There are also co-writes with Grammy-winning songwriters Lori McKenna and Amy Allen, who co-wrote the album’s single “The Rope,” that was released alongside an official video.


About the new single, Dan Wilson explains, “I knew it was good, but I wasn’t so sure ‘The Rope’ was a Semisonic song - until we ran through it in rehearsal and it roared from beginning to end like a freight train passing by. The lyrics are like an ode to Los Angeles disguised as a breakup-with-regrets song - a lot of songwriters would love to break up with LA so it makes sense to me.”

The 12 song collection marks the band’s first full length album since 2001’s All About Chemistry and follows their critically-acclaimed 2020 EP You’re Not Alone.

“My approach as an artist has always been to write from where I am now,” Wilson explains. “It’s been two decades since Semisonic made a full record together, so it was interesting to write from the perspective of returning to the band and finding it inspiring but very different. I couldn’t help but think about the early days, about the formative influences that shaped and inspired us, but a lot of the songs are about the present moment in my life.”

Earlier this summer, Semisonic released two new songs “Grow Your Own” and the album’s title track “Little Bit Of Sun” as they embarked on their first national tour in decades. More than past Semisonic records, Wilson focused his attention this time around on the acoustic guitar, taking his cues from Tom Petty. 

“I felt the loss of Tom Petty maybe even more than the loss of Prince, if only because Petty’s musical and songwriting brilliance seemed a little more within reach of my own abilities,” Wilson recalls. “His passing made me feel like any of us could go at any time, and so I wanted to write about making the most of our time on Earth.”

In addition to his work with Semisonic, Dan Wilson has remained an in-demand songwriter and producer, working on a uniquely diverse range of releases. His most recent work includes co-writing and producing Claud’s new single “A Good Thing,” co-writing Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse,” the first single from his forthcoming album that saw the largest add day at country radio this year, and co-writing and producing Celine Dion’s “Love Again” from the film and soundtrack. Wilson also teamed up with Mitski for her first released co-write “The Only Heartbreaker” which hit #1 on Billboard’s AAA radio chart, worked with Taylor Swift on re-producing his co-writes on Red (Taylor’s Version), and collaborated with Leon Bridges, Tom Morello, Joy Oladokun, Cuco and many more.

Track listing:

1) Little Bit of Sun
2) The Rope
3) Grow Your Own
4) Don’t Fade Away
5) Keep Me In Motion
6) All The Time
7) If You Say So
8) Out of the Dirt
9) It Wasn’t Like We Hoped It Would Be
10) So Amazed
11) Only Empathy
12) Beautiful Sky

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