Semisonic have released new single ‘Don’t Give Up Yet’, a deeply personal song that arrives as the Grammy nominated trio prepares to unveil a series of new recordings over the coming year.
by Paul Cashmere
Semisonic have returned with new music, releasing the single ‘Don’t Give Up Yet’ and an accompanying official video, marking the Minneapolis trio’s first new release in three years and the beginning of a planned series of new songs to be unveiled over the next 12 months.
The new track carries particular significance for the band. Frontman Dan Wilson initially began writing the song as a message to a friend experiencing a personal crisis. The idea later expanded into a broader reflection on perseverance and hope. The release arrives at a time when many veteran alternative acts are revisiting their catalogues while also looking for contemporary ways to engage audiences with new material.
For Semisonic, ‘Don’t Give Up Yet’ represents another chapter in a career that stretches back more than three decades. The group, consisting of Wilson, bassist John Munson and drummer Jacob Slichter, first emerged in Minneapolis in the mid-1990s after the dissolution of Trip Shakespeare. They would go on to become one of the defining American alternative rock bands of the late 1990s through songs that balanced melodic pop instincts with thoughtful songwriting.
In a statement accompanying the video release, the band referenced the broader inspiration behind the song and its relevance beyond individual struggles.
“Last year, we objected to the Federal Government’s unauthorized misuse of our song ‘Closing Time’ in a deportation video. While we are not known as a band who writes overtly political songs, we very much stand behind the message of our new single ‘Don’t Give Up Yet,’ which has been inspired both by loved ones fighting through hard times and by the fierce endurance and resistance of the community in our home state of Minnesota.
“We hope the song gives encouragement to all who need it, both in dealing with their personal struggles and in continuing to protect and defend their neighbours.”
The reference to ‘Closing Time’ revisits one of the most recognisable moments in Semisonic’s history. Released in 1998, the song became the band’s breakthrough hit, topping the US Modern Rock chart and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song. Although initially perceived as a song about the end of an evening, Wilson later revealed it was inspired by the impending birth of his first child.
Semisonic’s second album, Feeling Strangely Fine, established the band internationally and also produced the UK hit ‘Secret Smile’. Their third album, All About Chemistry, followed in 2001 before the group entered an extended hiatus.
The trio gradually returned to activity through reunion performances and eventually released the You’re Not Alone EP in 2020, their first new material in nearly two decades. Their most recent album, Little Bit of Sun, arrived in 2023 and marked the band’s first full-length release in 22 years. The record featured collaborations with acclaimed songwriters Lori McKenna and Amy Allen and guest appearances from Jason Isbell and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James.
Beyond Semisonic, Wilson has built one of modern songwriting’s most distinguished careers. His credits include co-writing Adele’s global hit ‘Someone Like You’ and The Chicks’ ‘Not Ready To Make Nice’, both of which became defining songs of their respective eras. His production and songwriting work has also extended across an unusually broad range of artists, from Taylor Swift and Celine Dion to Mitski, Orville Peck and Joy Oladokun.
More recently, Wilson received both Grammy and CMA recognition for co-writing Chris Stapleton’s ‘White Horse’. He also earned his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for ‘It Never Went Away’, written with Jon Batiste for the documentary American Symphony.
For Semisonic, however, the focus has returned to the collective identity of the band. With ‘Don’t Give Up Yet’ serving as the opening release in a new cycle of recordings, the trio appears intent on continuing the creative resurgence that began with You’re Not Alone and expanded with Little Bit of Sun. The song’s message of resilience and solidarity suggests that, even after three decades together and long periods of inactivity, Semisonic remain committed to writing songs that speak to both personal experience and broader human connection.
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