The band always meant to make a new record, but why did it take them so long? Frontman Darius Rucker‘s been busy with his solo country music career, for one thing. But ultimately, it was a major milestone in their history that gave them the push they needed to get it done.
“2019 being the 25th anniversary of Cracked Rear View seemed like a good time to shoot for, so that lined up nicely for us too,” says guitarist Mark Bryan. “We had something to celebrate when we toured…so it was kind of cool.”
About that tour, which wrapped up October 16 in the U.K.: It was the band’s first in 12 years and it was a massive sold-out success, even though Darius admits he thought would be a total disaster.
“I said in no uncertain terms that I just did not think this was going to work,” Rucker admits. “It was shocking to me…this was the biggest tour we’ve ever done. And there was a moment in our life where we were the biggest band in the world! And this is the biggest we’ve ever done. That was crazy!”
Imperfect Circle features songs co-written by collaborators as diverse as Ed Sheeran and country star Chris Stapleton, but it’s still got that classic Hootie sound. And the band isn’t too worried about trying to fit into the current pop scene, anyway.
“Once Darius starts singing and we get our parts in place, it sounds like us,” notes Mark. “We’re not necessarily concerned about what genre our songs end up in. That’s for our fans…to decide…We just enjoy making the music.”
Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.