“Closing Time” guys Semisonic, led by the accomplished and wide-reaching songwriter Dan Wilson, have a pair of new songs out today — their first new music in three years. The soft-but-sprightly pop-rock tunes “Little Bit Of Sun” and “Grow Your Own” arrive ahead of a Semisonic tour with Barenaked Ladies, the archnemeses of our Number Ones column, though we used to be on friendlier terms with them. But back to Semisonic — who, yeah, we once interviewed too.

A statement from Wilson on both new songs:

“Little Bit Of Sun” came out really fast one day – I think I wrote the first minute of it in one spontaneous take. It felt so right. We’ve all been beaten down by darkness for the last few years, it’s like we can hardly ask for a full sky of sunshine. We’d be willing to scrape by on a glimpse of it. But obviously, the song is asking for more. I can get by on a little bit, but at some point I want it all.

I wrote “Grow Your Own” about the joy and blue sky of starting up a band. If you’re a musician and you hear some music you love, you’re gonna want to make some of that music for yourself. Grow your own. And if you don’t hear the music you want to hear in the world, well then, all the more reason to grow your own. A lot of the imagery in the song is from the years when I lived in Boston, going to Harvard during the day and playing in the clubs at night. I definitely longed to be welcomed by the grungy rock people way more than I needed approval from the scholars. In retrospect, I guess it makes sense when you look at what I’ve done with my life.

Hear both songs below.

TOUR DATES:
06/06 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
06/07 – Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Pavilion
06/09 – Waite Park, MN @ The Ledge Amphitheater
06/10 – Mankato, MN @ Vetter Stone Amphitheater
06/11 – Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre
06/13 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
06/14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden
06/15 – Nampa, ID @ Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
06/17 – Troutdale, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield
06/18 – Woodinville, WA @ Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
06/20 – Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery
06/22 – San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
06/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
06/24 – Indio, CA @ Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
06/26 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall