Photo: Paul Bachmann
Dan Wilson is ready to step back into the Semisonic fray after a prolonged absence.
A jewel of the late nineties/early noughties US alternative scene, it’s been nearly two decades since Semisonic released a studio album but after forging a new career co-writing hits for other artists – not least of which Adele’s Someone like You – Wilson has told The Day the time is right for his band to make a return. “For a long time I just couldn’t think up songs that sounded like Semisonic to me,” he said.
“It was not for lack of desire. I’ve had this long ritual where a couple times a year I would sit down with an electric guitar and see if I could write a Semisonic song. And it just really eluded me for a long time.”
It was one of those co-writing sessions, with Liam Gallagher on this occasion, which sparked Semisonic back into life. “I admire him so much, and we had a really nice talk,” he continued.
“I set out to write some Liam Gallagher songs, but I totally accidentally wrote some Semisonic songs instead. Something about it just put me in the right mood. It opened the door. It was like, ‘Oh yeah, now I remember how to do this’.”