Semisonic has issued another single off its first full-length album in 22 years, and it features a guest who would have been a very big surprise a decade ago.
Hear Dan Wilson and Jason Isbell patch things up in Semisonic's new single
"Out of the Dirt" is the fourth track off the Minnesota pop-rock trio's first album in 22 years.
September 12, 2023 at 12:52PM
Americana music star Jason Isbell can be heard playing lead guitar all over the Twin Cities-reared power-pop trio's new tune, "Out of the Dirt," issued Tuesday morning (and posted below).
Isbell made some high-profile claims against Semisonic frontman Dan Wilson in 2012, when he accused him and country singer Dierks Bentley of plagiarizing one of his tunes for Bentley's big hit "Home." Bentley is one of the many chart-topping singers who've enlisted Wilson to help co-write hit songs (see also: Adele, the Chicks, Chris Stapleton and now Jon Batiste).
Isbell later recanted his claims and blamed it on his heavy drinking at the time. The long-cleaned-up Alabama native was just in Minnesota this past weekend for a pair of well-received shows in Grand Rapids and Moorhead.
In a press release for the heavy new single, Wilson said he and bandmates John Munson and Jacob Slichter agreed the song needed some "hot lead guitar," leading to the invite to Isbell. The song is one in which Wilson himself enlisted a co-writer, Lori McKenna, a Boston area folkie who also now works with Nashville stars.
"As we were cutting the track, everyone agreed it needed some hot lead guitar," Wilson said. "But instead of adding a guitar of my own later, we reached out to Jason Isbell to see if he wanted to throw down. The answer was yes (what a day!) and the results speak for themselves: Jason [expletive] rocks, as we already knew."
"Out of the Dirt" is the fourth track issued off Semisonic's long-overdue fourth LP, following the release of "Grow Your Own," "The Rope" and "Little Bit of Sun" in recent months. Also titled "Little Bit of Sun," Semisonic's album is due to arrive Nov. 3 and is available for preorder now. Turns out, another singer/songwriter who plays a mean guitar, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, is featured on another of the tracks.
Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
