Semisonic (“Closing Time”) is Back with its First New Song in 19 Years, Thanks to … Liam Gallagher?

Semisonic, the Minneapolis-based alt/rock band known for its breakout (and era-defining) 1998 hit “Closing Time,” is back with its first bit of new music since 2001.

Titled “You’re Not Alone,” the song is the title track to Semisonic’s new EP, which will be released on Sept. 18.

After an underwhelming reception to its 2001 album All About Chemistry, Semisonic went on hiatus, reforming in 2017 with a series of live performances.

During the time away from Semisonic, front man Dan Wilson worked with a number of artists as a producer, most notably the Dixie Chicks (two songs on their 2006 album Taking the Long Way) and Adele (co-writing three songs, including the global smash-hit “Someone Like You”). Other artists Wilson worked with included Weezer, Chris Stapleton, My Morning Jacket, John Legend, Rita Wilson and many more.

Interestingly, the return of Semisonic has a lot to do with Liam Gallagher, longtime vocalist of Oasis and Britpop icon. Gallagher has forged his own solo career in recent years, and that led to a potential collaboration with Wilson. Instead, Wilson wound up with new material for Semisonic, as he told the Star-Tribune:

“I admire him so much, and we had a really nice talk,” Wilson said. In the end, though, they didn’t wind up working together.

“I set out to write some Liam Gallagher songs, but I totally accidentally wrote some Semisonic songs instead,” Wilson explained — or tried to, anyway.

This experience ended a prolonged period of time that Wilson found himself unable to write in the Semisonic vein, as he told the Star-Tribune:

“For a long time, I just couldn’t think up songs that sounded like Semisonic to me,” he explained, settling onto the couch opposite the baby-grand piano in his studio.

“It was not for lack of desire. I’ve had this long ritual where a couple times a year I would sit down with an electric guitar and see if I could write a Semisonic song. And it just really eluded me for a long time.”

The end result of that creative rediscovery is “You’re Not Alone” and the upcoming release from Semisonic — and who knows, maybe more after that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGytDsqkQY8