The Old 97′s and St. Vincent — two of Dallas’ biggest guitar-based acts — have revealed new details about their upcoming albums.
On Tuesday, the 97′s announced an April 5 release date for their 13th studio album, American Primitive, and released a video for the song “Where the Road Goes.” The tune features jangling guitar courtesy of Peter Buck of R.E.M. fame. The video boasts film clips and photos dating to the early ‘90s, when the group formed at an apartment near Lower Greenville Avenue.
In a press release, lead singer Rhett Miller described the new song as a “spiritual travelogue” of his life. He also talked about his long history with guitarist Ken Bethea, bassist Murry Hammond and drummer Philip Peeples.
“It’s been impossible not to feel some emotion welling up at the idea that my bandmates and I have been in this close brotherhood for so long. A lot of that longevity has to do with the fact that we’re really the same band we were back then. … Our heart is still in the exact same place.”
Produced by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, the Decemberists), American Primitive takes its title from the novel Duma Key by Stephen King, a big fan of the band who announced the new album in a tweet in January. The Old 97′s kick off a 17-date tour of the western U.S. in early April. No Texas shows have been announced yet.
St. Vincent — the nom du rock of Lake Highlands High School grad Annie Clark — talked about her upcoming seventh studio album in a recent interview with the British music magazine Mojo. She described the work as “urgent and psychotic.”
“I like to think of [the record] as post-plague pop, it’s a lot about heaven and hell — the metaphorical kinds,” Clark said.
Recorded in New York, L.A. and Chicago, the album features Foo Fighters singer-guitarist Dave Grohl, drummer Josh Freese and Welsh singer Cate Le Bon. It’s the first album St. Vincent has produced entirely by herself. No release date has been set.
“The last record, I was approaching tough subjects with a lot of biting humor and wit,” she told Mojo. “I put on a wig, I was prancing around, it was so fun. This record is darker and harder and more close to the bone. I’d say it’s my least funny record yet. There’s nothing cute about it.”
