XOXO (The Jayhawks album)

XOXO is the eleventh studio album by the alt country band the Jayhawks, released on July 10, 2020.^[9] The album is dedicated to Ed Ackerson.

XOXO
Studio album by The Jayhawks
Released	July 10, 2020 (2020-07-10)
Studio	Pachyderm Recording Studio, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
Genre	Rock
Length	46:26
Label	Sham/Thirty Tigers
Producer	The Jayhawks
The Jayhawks chronology
Back Roads and Abandoned Motels (2018) XOXO (2020)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100^[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
American Songwriter	^[3]
Classic Rock	^[4]
Mojo	^[5]
Pitchfork	7.0/10^[6]
PopMatters	8/10^[7]
Uncut	^[8]

Background

The Jayhawks recorded XOXO in 2020 with the group line-up of Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg, and Tim O'Reagan after John Jackson left as a full time member. John Jackson is credited as on the album as is another former member, Stephen McCarthy. Longtime alt-country mainstay and frequent Jayhawks contributor Eric Heywood adds pedal steel to two tracks and engineer Kris Johnson plays guitar on one. This is the first Jayhawks album to with sole writing credits for each member as well as the first to feature each as a lead vocalist.^[10]

Track listing

1. "This Forgotten Town" (Gary Louris, Tim O'Reagan, Marc Perlman) – 3:48
2. "Dogtown Days" (O'Reagan) – 3:17
3. "Living in a Bubble" (Louris) – 3:05
4. "Ruby" (Karen Grotberg) – 3:39
5. "Homecoming" (Louris) – 4:06
6. "Society Pages" (O'Reagan) – 4:38
7. "Illuminate" (Louris, O'Reagan, Perlman) – 4:35
8. "Bitter Pill" (Grotberg, Louris, O'Reagan) – 3:25
9. "Across My Field" (Grotberg) – 4:55
10. "Little Victories" (Louris, O'Reagan) – 3:47
11. "Down to the Farm" (Perlman) – 3:28
12. "Looking Up Your Number" (O'Reagan) – 3:43

Bonus tracks (only available on the first pressings of the CD and LP releases)

1. "Jewel of the Trimbelle" (Grotberg) – 3:41
2. "Then You Walked Away" (Louris) – 3:14
3. "Hypocrite's Lament" (Perlman, Louris) – 3:28

Personnel

The Jayhawks

• Karen Grotberg – keyboards, vocals
• Gary Louris – guitars, mellotron, vocals
• Marc Perlman – bass, guitars, harmonica, vocals
• Tim O'Reagan – drums, percussion, guitar, sitar, vocals

Additional musicians

• Stephen McCarthy – electric guitar on "Bitter Pill" and pedal steel on "This Forgotten Town"
• Eric Heywood – pedal steel on "Across My Field" and "Ruby"
• John Jackson – violin on "Across My Field" and mandolin on "Living in a Bubble", "Bitter Pill" and "Down to the Farm"
• Kris Johnson – electric guitar on "Ruby"

Production

• The Jayhawks – producers
• Gary Louris – executive producer
• Paul Q. Kolderie – mixing
• Pete Weiss – mastering
• Nick Veitbakk – engineer
• Kris Johnson – engineer and mixing
• Duncan Hannah – cover painting

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[11]	149
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[12]	58
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[13]	52
US Folk Albums (Billboard)^[14]	13

References

1. "Critic Reviews for XOXO". Metacritic. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
2. Deming, Mark. "The Jayhawks – XOXO". AllMusic.
3. Zimmerman, Lee (August 16, 2020). "The Jayhawks Keep Americana Cred High on XOXO Album". American Songwriter. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
4. Sharp, Johnny (July 10, 2020). "The Jayhawks' XOXO – a triumph for democracy". Classic Rock. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
5. "The Jayhawks' – XOXO". Mojo. August 2020. p. 93.
6. Nelson, Elizabeth (July 20, 2020). "The Jayhawks: XOXO Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
7. Horowitz, Steve (July 9, 2020). "The Jayhawks Offer Us Some XOXO". PopMatters. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
8. Mueller, Andrew (August 2020). . Uncut. p. 24. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020.
9. "New Jayhawks album XOXO now out". September 2020.
10. "New Jayhawks album XOXO now out". September 2020.
11. "Ultratop.be – The Jayhawks – Xoxo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Jayhawks – Xoxo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
13. "Swisscharts.com – The Jayhawks – Xoxo". Hung Medien.
14. "The Jayhawks Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.