Jakob Dylan has announced his first Wallflowers album in nine years: Exit Wounds is out July 9 on New West Records. He joined Jill Riley to talk about the making of the new album, and about a Minnesota connection you probably didn't know about.

Jill Riley: When did you decide, "Hey, I want to put out a record under the name the Wallflowers"? When did you start working on it?

Jakob Dylan: Well, I had the songs just before our current situation really began, and then we kind of found a way to finish it. But you know, I started the Wallflowers quite a while ago...it was my group, and it still is. For various reasons, I'll do solo records. Last year, so I did an Echo in the Canyon record, which was a music documentary. So I don't know, I don't really have a grand plan. When the song has arrived, it kind of tells me which which hat to wear, either just myself or with the Wallflowers.

Who is playing on the record this time around, and where did you make it?

We made it out in Los Angeles here. There's nobody similar that's been on the Wallflowers records before. That's always been somewhat the case; the group that I've played with, it's been different. Since the very first record [in] '92, I don't think there's been one lineup that has made more than one record. So this is kind of a complete clearing.There's some people I've known out in Los Angeles here for quite some time that I've played with in various situations. Butch Walker, who I worked with as a producer, we just assembled like-minded musicians, and we had a good time doing it out here. It didn't take very long, because it just moved really well.

Bringing in new people to work with all the time: does that keep things feeling kind of fresh for you?

It does and, you know, I tend to play with people until it stops making sense. Because the Wallflowers really serves me more than it's ever gonna serve anybody else. So people have their own things in mind they want to do, and some people play longer than others. But it's kind of how it was originally conceived was just, you know, the people that I would have in mind at the time would make records with me, and then sometimes [that means] touring along the way, and sometimes it doesn't. But yeah, it does keep things fresh, I suppose. I don't think of it that way, but it's certainly more to call upon the people that make sense at the time.

How much of the situation of the past year, with the global pandemic and what we're collectively going through as the human species...how much of that really had an impact on on this record?

I didn't spend much time writing about these things, because, you know, my hope is I use and sing these songs for for the rest of my life. So I don't want to think about these times any longer than I have to. And I don't want to sing about this, certainly, for the next however many years left I get. But, you know, but it can't help but seep its way into what you're writing, because everybody was consumed by it. So it affected everything you did. Obviously, it affected just taking a walk around the grocery store. So it's gonna get in your mind when you're when you're writing songs, because it's changed your complete state of being. But I didn't write anything specifically to address it.

About the title of the record: Exit Wounds. Where did that come from?

Well, we've all got them. Right now, we've certainly got a lot of them. But exit wounds are transitions. It's not meant to be something that's overly dramatic or painful. It's just...every transition you go through, whichever direction that is: forward, or to the side, or upward, you're going to bring along exit wounds. You can't take everything with you. Unfortunately, you do take a lot of the stuff you don't wish you had to with you. So it's about transformation, really. But it certainly applies to right now. Because, you know, I think we all got a lot of those right now for whatever we prepare for what's next. Everybody's a little bit different from here on out.

I was thinking about my introduction to the Wallflowers: "Sixth Avenue Heartache" and "One Headlight," it was so big. I mean, 1996, I was in high school. I could picture my first car and driving around and hearing those songs on the radio. And really, they do have this kind of timeless feel to them. When I was preparing for this interview, I was listening to some of the new songs on the new record, but I thought, gosh, you know, I want to go back and listen to "One Headlight." And so I did and I put on a pair of headphones, and I thought, gosh, you know, I'm hearing stuff in this song that it just it kind of felt new to me. So I went down the internet rabbit hole; I just wanted to refresh my memory. Did Gary Louris from the Jayhawks sing on that song?

Oh, yeah, he's the hometown hero. Yeah, I believe he is. He is on "One Headlight." Yeah, he's singing along with Sam Phillips. Okay. Yeah, that's Gary, your hometown hero right there.

It was so cool to see his name in the credits. We know your Minnesota connection, Jacob; we know who your dad is. He's a he's a big deal everywhere, but a big deal in Minnesota. But I thought that was kind of cool to see that that other connection because you know, we love our hometown heroes. What was your connection to Gary Louris? When did you maybe meet him and the Jayhawks?

Yeah, I'm certainly aware of them. I knew their music, and when we made the record Bringing Down the Horse, at that time, there wasn't somebody in the group that could really handle a lot of the background vocals. You know, I've never been too much of a fan of doing that stuff myself; I want to hear somebody else sing. When we were just brainstorming, I probably the song "Blue" was probably very current at the time. And the two of them sang so well together that that was just on top of my wish list that we could find Gary Louris. I'm not sure where he was, at the time, if he was in Minneapolis, or when he came out, I don't remember. But he sings on a bunch of songs on that record, and we've become friends. Since then we've written together and done songs together and performed together. He's a good friend of mine.

That's great. We'll send a shout-out to Gary this morning. So I know that you guys have announced a tour. How excited are you to get back on the road?

Well, I'm really excited. We all miss it. I certainly miss it, there's not a lot of wouldn't do be able to go out and tour and play the new record.

I know that the first single "Roots and Wings," I wonder if you could talk about that song a little bit.

It's got sentiments of being aware of where you come from, and having some gratitude for where you're going. You can do all that at once, you know, and we don't always see that. We don't always need a thank-you, but an expression of gratitude is sometimes the least people usually require. I mean, if Paul Simon can say, you know, regarding the Joe DiMaggio line, that he doesn't know why he wrote that, everybody can just relax a little bit and admit that sometimes you just kind of follow your nose and hear these things occur to you.

So when you put a collection of these words and lyrics together, if you stare at them too long, they just disappear like smoke. You're talking to someone who doesn't always have a specific agenda to tell you with songs; I think they're more like paintings and they can be it can be many different things from day to day. And that's kind of magic and and so once you pin them down, and you tell people what they're actually about, it's limiting to the actual material in the songs.

I think a lot of songwriters you talk to, they have an opportunity before you talk to them, once they finish the records to come up with a great theme or idea of what their songs are about. They can do that. Now, in hindsight, usually when they do them, you know, the really good ones, you're not exactly sure what you're doing. As you do it more and more year after year, you realize that that's okay. Unless you're writing narrative, you know, which I don't really do. They're allowed to just stretch and mutate and shape shifts throughout the years.

No one wants to ever say, "What I'm trying to do is get a collection of words that sound good together for three minutes." Some songwriter ought to be really honest with you just tell you that.

No, I wouldn't mind hearing it. But I'm coming to an understanding now, more than I did 10 years ago. Like, what do you mean, you can't tell me what it's about? Because I didn't understand it. You know, I'm not a songwriter. I'm just, you know, when I talk to songwriters, it can be hard because I don't do what you do.

Yeah, with asking somebody what a song is about again, some people do that. That's not necessarily the field that I work in. They're not necessarily about any one thing. I mean, you're cramming a lot of information and images into three and a half minutes. Saying that what it's about...like that's almost impossible at times because they can lead through time. They can lead through characters, they can shift between points of view. It's just really difficult sometimes to say what they're specifically about. I think a really good one is really about multiple things.