Twin Cities-based trio Semisonic released a new song “All It Would Take” from their forthcoming EP You’re Not Alone out September 18 via Pleasuresonic Recordings/Megaforce Records. The song follows “You’re Not Alone,” the title track to the forthcoming EP and the band’s first single in nearly 20 years, which just debuted at #40 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Songs airplay list.
“I feel that in each of our lives, there is the possibility of meeting that one person who will change the way we see everything, a person who will give us a sense of new meaning, a mission, a passion,” explains songwriter Dan Wilson. “‘All it Would Take’ is my song for that moment, that person, that one voice that can change the world within you. Then you can turn outward and begin to change the world around you, too.”
For Semisonic drummer Jaccob Slichter, “All It Would Take” offered him a powerful chance to work professionally with his goddaughter. This is something he shared on Social Media today:
As some of you know, Dan and Diane’s daughter Coco is the inspiration for the song “Closing Time.” She’s also my goddaughter.
When Coco was a toddler, we’d sit on the floor and clap hands back and forth, trading rhythms. Then we graduated to the piano, trading melodies and cracking each other up. We’ve known from quite a young age that she has musical gifts, and it’s been fun to see them grow over the years. Once in a while, I’ll open an email from her with her latest song or groove. We’ve jammed together, taking turns on keyboards and drums, always having a blast.
So, when Semisonic recorded “All It Would Take,” Dan had an idea: After I played the basic drum track, we set up a long row of tom toms. Coco and I stood side by side and took turns trading drum fills, one right after the other. I’ve lost track of which fills are hers and which are mine, but I love that she is part of this recording. Whenever I listen, I see us perched at those drums with our sticks, smiling to near laughter at each other’s rhythmic punchlines.
“Changing the world within me and around me”
That’s you, Coco. Thank you!
– Jacob Slichter
Earlier this month, Semisonic released the official video for their latest single “You’re Not Alone,” which was directed by Minneapolis filmmaker Phil Harder, whose resume includes videos for Prince, Foo Fighters, Liz Phair and Nada Surf.
The song was embraced by Rolling Stone, SPIN, Stereogum and Consequence of Sound, who said, “Like their greatest hits of yesteryear, the track is dosed in slick distortion, the kind that gels beautifully underneath the vocals of singer-songwriter Dan Wilson.”
Recorded on and off over the last few years at Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer Dan Wilson’s Los Angeles studio with his bandmates John Munson and Jacob Slichter, the EP is pure Semisonic in all its ragged, rousing glory, fueled by lean arrangements and muscular performances of poignant, bittersweet, alt-rock gems.
“I think these songs have a really important and relevant story to tell,” says Munson. “They embody this spirit of optimism about the possibility we can offer each other in times of hardship and struggle. I’ve always believed that a Semisonic song is one that gives you hope, one that sends you out into the night happy, one that leaves you feeling more connected to whatever it is that makes you human, and that’s something we need now more than ever.”
Semisonic officially reunited in the summer of 2017 to celebrate the anniversaries of their albums Great Divide and Feeling Strangely Fine, which was reissued in 2018 for its 20th anniversary. Earlier this year, Dan Wilson was featured on the hit podcast Song Exploder, where he broke down their Grammy-nominated (Best Rock Song, 1999) #1 hit single “Closing Time.”
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