Old 97's Twelfth LP (Silver Vinyl)

Old 97's, the iconic alt-country outfit fronted by Rhett Miller, is returning with their twelfth album, the aptly titled Twelfth, to be released on August 21, 2020. Twenty-seven years in, Old 97's still features its original lineup - Miller, guitarist Ken Bethea, bassist Murry Hammond, and drummer Philip Peeples - and Twelfth is a testament to the band's staying power. The album's cover image of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach is both an homage to Miller's childhood hero and a recognition that, in making their livings as musicians, the 97's themselves have achieved their lifelong dreams.

Loose and raw, the record is an ecstatic celebration of survival, a resounding ode to endurance and resilience from a veteran group that refuses to rest on their considerable laurels. While the album boasts all the hallmarks of a classic Old 97's record (sex and booze, laughter and tears, poetry and blasphemy), it also showcases a newfound perspective in its writing and craftsmanship, a maturity and appreciation that can only come with age and experience. Perhaps the band is growing up; maybe they're just getting started. Either way, Old 97's have never been happier to be alive.

Terse, wry, and supremely catchy roots-rock.

A well-loved pioneering force in the alt-country movement... [they've] still got the same raucous, sweaty energy that's made [them] so beloved all this time.

Blistered, blasted, and brilliant.