Erudite Southern rock veterans the Drive-By Truckers have been touring and recording at an insane pace for more than two decades now, and they’ve just announced the impending arrival of their 12th studio album. Early next year, the Truckers will follow up 2016’s American Band with a new LP called The Unraveling.

The new album is arriving three and a half years after the last one, the longest gap in DBT history. If “American Band” focused on the declining state of the country, then The Unraveling looks to get even deeper into an even more fucked-up state of affairs. There’s one song called “Thoughts And Prayers” and another called “Babies In Cages,” so you already know this is going to be topical. In a press release, co-leader Patterson Hood says:

The past three and a half years were among the most tumultuous our country has ever seen, and the duality between the generally positive state of affairs within our band while watching so many things we care about being decimated and destroyed all around us informed the writing of this album to the core…

If the last one was a warning shot hinting at a coming storm, this one was written in the wreckage and aftermath. I’ve always said that all of our records are political but I’ve also said that “politics is personal.” With that in mind, this album is especially personal.

First single “Armageddon’s Back In Town” is a revved-up, world-weary rocker about dealing with the day-to-day hassles of traveling the United States while feeling like things are at a breaking point. Below, listen to the track and check out the tracklist for The Unraveling.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Rosemary With A Bible and A Gun”
02 “Armageddon’s Back In Town”
03 “Slow Ride Argument”
04 “Thoughts And Prayers”
05 “21st Century USA”
06 “Heroin Again”
07 “Babies In Cages”
08 “Grievance Merchants”
09 Awaiting Resurrection”

The Unraveling is out 1/31 on ATO Records.