It’s been several years since Jakob Dylan has released music with his solo project, The Wallflowers, but he’s finally emerged from hiatus with his seventh studio album, Exit Wounds.

“I think everybody — no matter what side of the aisle you’re on — wherever we’re going to next, we’re all taking a lot of exit wounds with us,” Jakob said in a statement. “Nobody is the same as they were four years ago. That, to me, is what Exit Wounds signifies.”

It’s no shocker that he would take inspiration from the COVID-19 pandemic, as so many other artists have cited the same. Even if the past year or so has changed him as a person, Jakob insists his songwriting has not swayed.

“I’m the same writer I’ve always been,” he continues. “I was just also writing during a time when the world felt like it was falling apart. That changes the way you address even the simplest things, because you have panic in your mind all the time. You have anxiety. And you also have hope. And it’s all in there.”

With a strong focus on storytelling, Exit Wounds provides moments of rock, roots, blues, and Americana, all bundled into one cohesive package.

Jakob was joined by producer Butch Walker, who has previously worked with Green Day, Taylor Swift, Weezer, Panic! At the Disco, and countless other big-name musicians. Singer/songwriter Shelby Lynne can also be heard on four of the album’s tracks.

In the nine years since 2012’s Glad All Over was released, Jakob kept busy with other projects– most recently hosting the 2019 film Echo in the Canyon, which takes a look at the Laurel Canyon music scene of the mid ’60s. He is also featured on the film’s soundtrack.

The Wallflowers gained international fame with their mega-hit “One Headlight,” off the album Bringing Down the Horse, with “6th Avenue Heartache” also getting decent numbers (author’s note: the latter track is unquestionably one of my favorite songs ever).

Bringing Down the Horse landed at No. 7 on the US Billboard 200 Year-End chart back in 1997 and went quadruple platinum.

The Wallflowers will play a series of shows this fall before heading out with Matchbox Twenty in 2022 for their twice-postponed U.S. summer tour.

You can listen to Exit Wounds on Spotify now, and buy the album from any of the options listed here (though we’d always recommend hitting up your local record shop first).

Featured image taken from The Wallflowers: Roots & Wings via The Late Late Show with James Corden.