Old 97’s Announce 13th Album, ‘American Primitive’

After 30 years as a band, the Old 97’s have learned to rely on what comes naturally to them.

For their new album, American Primitive, they gathered in a Portland, Oregon, studio and just let ’er rip.

“This was the first record we’ve ever done with zero pre-production,” singer and guitarist Rhett Miller says in a press release announcing the album. “It’s us working completely on instinct, leaning on 30 years of playing together to come up with something on the fly rather than overthinking any of our choices.”

The cover artwork for “American Primitive” is a painting by Tex Hammond

American Primitive, coming April 5 on ATO Records, borrows its title from the Stephen King novel Duma Key; it’s a term used in a passage of fictional art criticism. (Technically, it was King himself who spilled the beans about the album, seemingly accidentally, way back in January, with a tweet pronouncing the album “terrific.”) The album’s cover features a painting from Tex Hammond, the 17-year-old son of Old 97’s bassist Murry Hammond.

The first single from American Primitive, “Where the Road Goes,” looks back on a long journey. The video features archival footage of the band in its early days, but the song is deeply personal for Miller.

“I was in Montana and found myself on the banks of the Blackfoot River, watching the water pounding with a ferocious power, and I started building this song as a statement of gratitude for having survived this long,” he explains. “It revisits some of the darkest moments of my life, including a suicide attempt at age 14 that by all rights I shouldn’t have lived through and yet somehow did. In a way it’s like a spiritual travelogue that rolls back through all the places that shaped me for better or worse, and ends up in this beautiful place that I felt so thankful to experience.”

American Primitive, the Texas-rooted alt-country band’s 13th album, was produced by Tucker Martine and features guest musicians Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey of The Minus 5. The Old 97’s are touring the West Coast this spring.

Here’s a look at the tracklist for American Primitive:

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