The Jayhawks have released a cinematic new video for “Dogtown Days”, the new song off their forthcoming album, XOXO (July 10 via Sham/Thirty Tigers). Filmed in May during quarantine, the video tells the story of two friends on a road trip to see The Jayhawks, illustrated with social distancing filming techniques and vintage 1985 footage of the band soundchecking. Billboard featured it this morning, saying “XOXO contains the jangly, guitar-driven, instantly catchy tunes the band is renowned for…that welcoming, identifiable sound is especially evident on ‘Dogtown Days’…”
“Rick Fuller, Rick Lawrence and I filmed The Jayhawks sound checking for New Band Night, 1985 at the 7th St Entry in Minneapolis,” explains “Dogtown Days” video director Philip Harder. “35 years later I wove this rare outtake footage and mic check banter into a fictional story of two friends on a road trip, filming 8mm and selling merch for a young band called The Jayhawks. Actors Em Prozinski (Tim O’Reagan’s neice) and my son Otto Harder were filmed separately by their parents. We took notes on actions and reactions for Em and Otto, and there were a few scenes that were split-screened in edit to allow them to appear to be a foot apart.”
After 30 years together, The Jayhawks have delivered their most diverse and wide-ranging set of songs to date. XOXO marks a new era for the band, with all four members contributing to lead vocals and songwriting for the first time. Showcasing The Jayhawks’ unrelenting ability to evolve while staying true to their authentic sound, the new album reminds us why they continue to be such an influential and respected band. Their latest song “This Forgotten Town”, written by Marc Perlman and Gary Louris and sung by both Louris and Tim O’Reagan, was recently hailed as a “jangly roots-pop gem” by Rolling Stone.
Carrying on their success since returning to the core members from the late-90’s lineup, The Jayhawks released Paging Mr. Proust in 2016 and Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim. The culmination of five years spent growing even more together, XOXO is a sonically and emotionally cohesive album that stands as a testament to the band’s consistent forward motion.
