Two years after his first Red House album Stumpjumper, Charlie Parr is back with a new record, due out Sept. 8 on the St. Paul label.

Packed with Parr's signature, detailed observations and musings, the album's title track "Dog" is out today. Listeners can expect the themes in "Dog" to appear throughout the album, as Parr tackles "emotional issues, issues of mental health and the existential examinations of life, the soul, and the purpose of life and living," according to a press release.

"I have a dog, her name is Ruby but I call her Ruben, and we go for these long, crazy, chaotic walks," Parr said in the press release. "I decided a long time ago that I get along really well with this dog, and I was taking her for walks, and she wanted to go this way, and I wanted to go that way. And then I thought, why are we going to go this way and not that way? Maybe I should be the one getting walked. Maybe I'll learn something. So I follow the dog."

Parr is joined on the album by folk artist Jeff Mitchell, harmonica player Dave Hundreiser, bassist Liz Draper, and percussionist Mikkel Beckman. He'll hit the road in July, touring parts of both coasts and a chunk of the Midwest. He'll be back in the Twin Cities for a show at the Mill City Museum on Aug. 9.

Dog track list

1. Hobo

2. Dogo

3. Salt Water

4. LowDown

5. Sometime's I'm Alright

6. Rich Food and Easy Living

7. I Ain't Dead Yet

8. Boiling Down Silas

9. Another Dog

10. Peaceful Valley