Drag City teases first Jim O'Rourke album in six years

Simple Songs is due this May.

The list of great albums Jim O’Rourke has made and the albums he made great as a producer is a long one. Whether you’re looking at his solo work, his 90s band Gastr Del Sol, far reaching collaborations, or his work with work with artists and bands including Sonic Youth, Wilco, Joanna Newsom, Brainiac, Bill Callahan, and John Fahey. Simply put, the man is a living legend. It’s unfortunate then that Jim O’Rourke hasn’t released an album since 2009. That is changing soon.

Drag City recently teased an upcoming release titled Simple Songs with a brief video that featuring some music that is decidedly “O’Rourkian” and a new Amazon pre-order seems to confirm it. The bigger question now is what will the first album in six years from a man who has released defining albums in genres including computer music, country rock, chamber pop, and whose last album was simply a 40-minute orchestral composition that existed in a genre entirely of its own making, actually sound like?

Who knows, but as Tiny Mix Tapes has pointed out, it could finally be the orchestral pop album O’Rourke has reportedly been working on for over a decade.

~~No word from Drag City yet, but watch the teaser they released below. Simple Songs looks to be out this May.~~

Update: Drag City have shared the artwork, tracklist and a new teaser for Simple Songs, which is due out May 19. [via Pitchfork]