Alternative country band The Old 97’s have announced a new album Twelfth, which is set to be released via ATO Records on August 21. The group have also released the project’s debut single and music video for “Turn Off The TV,” directed by Liam Lynch.
“Turn Off The TV” is shown across various vintage TV sets, showing images throughout the band’s career, alongside footage of the group’s frontman Rhett Miller performing the song and a cameo from Puddles Pity Party, a clown alter ego used by musician and entertainer Mike Geier. The song is a mixture of old time country, with blues laden guitar chords and even a saxophone outro at the end.
This album release was inspired by Miller’s five-year sobriety, according to a press release and features Dallas Cowboys’ legend Roger Staubach on its cover. Staubach is one of Miller’s childhood heroes and represents the band achieving their lifelong dreams through their musical career.
“Going back in, I thought, ‘What if I don’t bring anything to the table?” Miller explained in a Rolling Stone interview regarding the project. “What if I’m like Samson and the whiskey was my long hair and I cut it off and can’t write songs anymore?’… But [Twelfth] was the first record where, top to bottom, I felt I was back in the driver’s seat, found my voice, and came out the other side. It feels good.”
Back in 2017 the outfit released a collaborative single alongside Brandi Carlile titled “Good With God.”
Twelfth track listing
1. The Dropouts
2. This House Got Ghosts
3. Turn Off The TV
4. I Like You Better
5. Happy Hour
6. Belmont Hotel
7. Confessional Boxing
8. Diamonds on Neptune
9. Our Year
10. Bottle Rocket Baby
11. Absence (What We’ve Got)
12. Why Don’t We Ever Say We’re Sorry
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