There is a new Old 97s album likely forthcoming next year.
The Old 97s have not had any lineup changes and their interviews focus on them as the friends they have been for the last 40 years. U2 is the only other band I can think of quickly that portrays similar chemistry.
While lead singer solo albums seem redundant, Miller has generally been purposeful in making them something different. While there are some moments on his solo albums that have the rollicking alt country of Old 97s, that’s usually the exception
2025s A Lifetime of Riding by Night has its own vibe. It’s focused on Miller’s lyrics as the accompanying music is stripped down for an intimate folky feel. This also may be an effect of Rhett’s recent vocal cord surgery.
Hammond produces while cameos and the guest list on this album consists of Evan Felker of the Turnpike Troubadours, Caitlin Rose, Jesse Valenzuela (of the Gin Blossoms), and Nicole Atkins.
Rhett (and the 97s) contains multitudes but it bears reminding that this is the singer who gave its one of the great songs of the last quarter century can write a tune. (I am referring here to “Question” from the 2001 album Satellite Rides, probably the band’s most well known song. It appeared prominently in the TV series Scrubs . Miller re-recorded it in 2006 for his solo album The Believer) his is an also a guy who has covered Prine and Jon Langford. As fun as the 97s are, let's not forget just how talented of a lyricist he is.
Miller’s albums are often different than the Old 97s- they are more pop, less alt country. This album doesn’t sound like much of his previous work, but has a wonderful distinct vibe.
I give Hammond a big thumbs up for capturing that mood. Rhett has always written some great reflective lyrics of life as a musician - the rollicking “Longer than You’ve Been Alive” off the Old 97s 2014 Most Messed Up album as one example. There’s definitely some of that Mott the Hoople style career rumination, but here he tackles it from a more self reflective angle on the disc's title track.
“All Over Again” is a positive looking song that is the hallmark of Miller’s solo records. “Be Mine” might be the best song here because it combines that optimism and the detailed narrator sides of Miller.
There’s surely an alternate world where only Miller’s solo albums exist and he is an underappreciated troubadour.
