but at this point it seems kind of inevitable or unstoppable.

That was a nice shot, kind of over the keeper, under the crossbar, kind of unstoppable.

[Earlier Son Volt releases possessed a more composed, controlled atmosphere, which showed off Farrar's songwriting chops well, but the new one has a more pervasive sense of urgency, not just lyrically but also musically. There's an immediacy that's palpable.] We were kind of a new configuration, so there's an edge there, a spontaneity that's basically good, ... Maybe we were aware that this was something special that never happened before?

I think I just sort of felt like with the original incarnation of Son Volt we'd hit a wall, ... I didn't want to necessarily be the person who had to crack the whip to try to push people in a certain direction that they didn't want to go.

After doing the solo records, I was playing a lot of acoustic shows and just began missing the band dynamic. So getting back to Son Volt was, for me, finishing unfinished business.

Having gone through a period of making solo records and performing with just one other guy, Mark Spencer, I really missed the idea of playing in a group dynamic. We're doing a set that is focused on the new album, but we'll be doing other Son Volt material as well -- and we could be going back to Uncle Tupelo, too.